Shang left the Mana Austerum and blankly walked along the street.
Shang constantly felt like he forgot his sled-wagon, but he always got reminded that he didn't own the sled-wagon anymore.
It was so weird.
He had traveled with that thing for nearly a week, and he had traveled across a large distance.
From the northwestern third of the Ice Wyvern Zone, Shang had pulled the sled-wagon all the way to the southeastern end of the Zone.
But now, he didn't need it anymore.
And in exchange?
29 pieces of gold!
Getting that sled-wagon to here had been a major pain in the ass, but it had been worth it!
29 gold!
Shang could probably buy some incredible things for such an amount of money!
And now, Shang didn't even need to pull the heavy sled-wagon along anymore!
He could finally travel without any restrictions!
Shang put the bag of gold beneath his coat and fastened it securely. Then, he walked to the southeastern gate and asked the guard for directions to Warrior's Paradise.
"We are currently at the northwestern edge of the Storm Eagle Zone," one of the guards told Shang as he gestured towards the southeast. "Follow this road until you reach a vast landscape filled with farms. That's when you've reached the safest part in the Storm Eagle Zone, the Farm Line."
"Farm Line?" Shang asked.
"Yes. The Farm Line is, as the name suggests, a huge line of farms. You could also call it a big territory for agriculture. That's where all the food and basic resources for Warrior's Paradise are produced. Warrior's Paradise is gigantic, and it burns through resources like crazy, which is why it needs a huge area dedicated to nothing but farming."
"As long as you keep following the path, you will reach the Farm Line. When you get there, you only need to continue walking. The direction you walk towards isn't actually important."
This confused Shang. "How is it not important?" he asked.
"Because a ridiculous number of guards and soldiers are constantly patrolling the Farm Line. The Farm Line is the lifeline of Warrior's Paradise, and the city can't afford to let anything interfere with the farmers. Because of that, bandits and wild beast essentially don't exist there."
"As soon as you walk into the Farm Line, you are sure to meet some guards very quickly, who will then instruct you on how to proceed. If you have any valuables, you must have some sort of receipt for them. Vast quantities of wealth are very suspicious."
This made Shang frown, and he took out his bag of gold.
When the guard saw the bag, he whistled. "That's quite some money you got there, boy," he said.
Shang only nodded and looked into the bag.
Sure enough, just as he had suspected, a small piece of paper was inside the bag, stating that Shang had exchanged the gold with the mages and that this gold belonged to him.
Shang had already anticipated that the manager had put something into the bag. After all, she had probably also guessed that Shang would go to Warrior's Paradise.
"Is that enough?" Shang asked as he showed the piece of paper to the guard.
The guard squinted at the piece of paper and nodded. "Yep. It has the official seal on it."
"Thanks," Shang said as he put everything away again. "How far to Warrior's Paradise? Can I get there by the end of the day?"
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ The guard looked at the sky to judge the time.
It was late afternoon.
"Can I test your body's power?" the guard asked.
Shang only raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
The guard lifted his spear and moved the butt of the spear slowly towards Shang's shoulder.
Then, he pushed a bit.
Shang automatically pushed back, and the soldier nodded as he took his spear back. "Should be enough. You will probably reach the Farm Line by the evening, and if nothing interferes, Warrior's Paradise by nightfall."
"That doesn't sound very far," Shang commented.
"It isn't," the guard answered. "Warrior's Paradise isn't in the middle of the Storm Eagle Zone but slightly in the north. The Farm Line takes up the remainder of the north."
"And the other parts of Storm Eagle Zone?" Shang asked.
The guard only smirked.
"Death."
Shang raised an eyebrow. "Death?"
"Yep, death," the guard said. "If you see any signs of beasts, you know that you walked in a wrong direction. When you see the first beast, you should still be safe with your power, but you shouldn't go further into the wilderness. The power of the beasts just keeps escalating to a degree where even our Duke has to watch where he's going."
"The Duke?" Shang asked with shock.
According to what Shang had seen, the unimaginably powerful octopus and hedgehog had been nothing more than pets to the Duke. These two beasts were so powerful that Shang couldn't even attempt to resist them, and the Duke was even more powerful.
Yet, there were beasts in that place that were as powerful or even more powerful than the Duke?
That was amazing and terrifying at the same time!
"Then, why is there such a big city there?" Shang asked.
"Money," the guard answered with a smirk. "Strong beasts give strong materials for strong people. Warrior's Paradise is exporting a large quantity of high-end materials, making it one of the richest places in the world."
"Anyway, you should go. I also have to work, you know?" the guard said.
Shang nodded. "Thanks for all the information."
The guard also nodded.
Shang went past the gate and checked all of his belongings again.
Gold? Check.
Clothing? Check.
Sword? Check.
Everything was in order.
Then, Shang stretched his muscles for a bit.
Lastly…
BANG!
The ground under Shang let out a slight vibration as he charged forward. By now, Shang couldn't see any snow anymore, and everything looked rather dusty and desolate. One could almost call this part a wasteland.
Shang guessed that the main reason for this desolation was the Mana Austerum. The Mana Austerum probably ate up a lot of humidity by absorbing the Ice Mana, leaving the surroundings empty.
As Shang charged forward, he felt the power of the wind.
Shang got reminded of the time he had charged down the mountain after leaving the Duke's garden.
No sled-wagon.
No worries.
He could just run.
His future was in front of him!
Shang passed several merchants on his way with a grin. He had always been the one that had been overtaken by merchants.
Now, he was overtaking them.
After just 30 minutes, Shang saw the first flowers and trees.
Ten minutes later, Shang saw far more trees, and he could even see the occasional small forest.
Twenty minutes later, Shang saw the first building. It was a simple woodworking shop close to the woods. Shang could hear the sound of sawing coming from the shop.
As Shang stopped to look at the woodworking shop, he noticed that the wind had picked up. Shang guessed that the wind had reached a speed of about 20 kph by now. Not a storm, but still very noticeable.
Shang continued running, and ten minutes later, the trees slowly started to vanish. What replaced them were huge farms filled with wheat and all kinds of useful plants.
There were also several strong animals pulling carts, some of which Shang had never seen before.
There was even a two-meter-tall dog walking along the fields, and when Shang saw the dog, he felt a shudder.
That dog was powerful!
It was probably in the General Stage, which was the Second Realm, and it definitely wasn't in the earlier levels of that Realm.
The big dog looked at Shang for a bit but looked away again in disinterest.
It obviously wasn't there to keep watch over humans.
"Is this your first time seeing the Farm Dogs?"
Shang jumped to the side in shock as he heard a voice come from his right.
Shang looked over, and he saw a man in brownish-black clothing standing beside him. The clothing perfectly made him blend into the environment.
Additionally, that man also felt far too powerful to Shang.
Shang hadn't even noticed the guy!
"Sorry," the guy said with an awkward smile. "I'm one of the scouts. Didn't mean to startle you."
Shang calmed down again and released a deep breath. "It's okay. I'm here to join the Warrior Academy."
"Oh, I thought as much, based on how fast you moved just now," the scout said with a chuckle. "I'm basically done with my work anyway, and my home is in Warrior's Paradise. I can show you the way."
Shang nodded. "Thanks."