On May 28, 1171 (the Catholic calendar), a fleet of five North Island warships set sail from the western coast of Muxi and, after a two-day and two-night voyage, approached an island called Nepo in the northern archipelago region.

The fleet slowly approached the island through a thick fog. Due to rough seas and extremely low visibility, the hulls of two ships were damaged by reefs. These unexpected events forced the fleet to abandon its original landing site and instead anchor and camp on the nearest beach.

Harkins' "The Successors" squad and Edgar were the first to disembark and conduct a scouting patrol. After confirming that the surrounding area was safe, the entire fleet began to disembark in batches.

When Todd disembarked from the ship with the map, the campfire at the camp was already lit, and the crew began to cook fish and vegetable soup in a large pot for breakfast for all the crew members.

Looking at the busy staff around him, Todd recalled that just a week ago, the entire town of Muxi was making final preparations for this voyage. The Knights' headquarters held several meetings to discuss the North Island strategy and arrange work within the town. After several rounds of discussions, Harkins led the "Inheritors" squad as the main force to explore the North Island; Cumberland took over command and continued to attack the kingdom's nobles to expand the Knights' territory; Alfonso was responsible for the town's defense and moved the troops eastward.

As for the management of the civilian population, Rachel was in charge of the construction of the biochemical factory and the production of its products; Queen Mary was in charge of the expenses and management of the Holy Treasury and the Mutual Aid Society; Knight Dion was in charge of the Holy Order Arbitration Court; and Brother Joe was in charge of the planning and expansion of Twilight Town.

However, at the Knights' assembly, the position of one person sparked controversy among the crowd. This person was none other than the Grand Master of the Knights—Todd.

In Todd's view, the development of Twilight Town was already on the right track, and if he stayed in the town, he would not only be of no help, but might also hinder others from doing their work. Therefore, he proposed to join the exploration team heading to the North Island.

This proposal was met with unanimous opposition from the Knights. In their view, how could the Grand Master of the Knights risk his life?

After Todd repeatedly emphasized the importance of the North Island expedition to the development of Twilight Town and tried his best to persuade others to support him, the Knights finally decided to change their original plan and upgrade the original North Island exploration team into an expeditionary force.

The original crew of 85 people on two warships expanded to 220 people on five warships. The crew included guides, soldiers, craftsmen, monks, and other professions.

In terms of mutant equipment, in addition to Harkins' "Inheritors" squad, the expeditionary force also brought underwater attack mutants and reconnaissance mutants. Furthermore, Todd equipped himself and the other "Inheritors" with mutant abilities suitable for operations on the North Island, such as regeneration and underwater breathing.

Regarding guides, among the prisoners of war in Cumberland, there were some pirates who were willing to convert to the Church of God, who formed a small group and served as guides for the expeditionary force.

And so, the Northern Island Expeditionary Force of Muxi Town was officially established and set sail.

Todd snapped out of his thoughts, looked at a young pirate beside him, and asked, "Lev, how far are we from our destination?"

The young man, called Lev, walked with a slight limp. He glanced at the surrounding terrain and respectfully addressed Todd, "Sir, it's a two-hour boat ride to the main island of 'Claw.' The island we're on is called Nepo, which was once the stronghold of the 'Black Skull' tribe..."

"The 'Black Skull' tribe? Is that the tribe with berserkers?"

Upon hearing this, Lev quickly nodded and replied, "That's right. For a considerable period of time, although the 'Black Skull' tribe was small in number, they had a small squad of invincible 'Berserkers.' Therefore, they never lost out in the battles between pirate tribes. Later, as the number of Berserkers dwindled and their chieftain disappeared during the southward expedition, the 'Black Skull' tribe never recovered and was suppressed by the 'Claw' tribe for a long time."

Todd listened to the introduction as he walked through the camp and headed towards the higher part of the island.

As he walked, he also pondered this strange world he had transmigrated to.

Based on current information, the entire alternate world is set in the Middle Ages and is mainly divided into five major factions.

They were pirates from the northwest, barbarians from the north, the Church of God from the central and western regions, the Orthodox Church from the central and eastern regions, and finally, pagans from the south who believed in Allah.

In terms of classification and characteristics, these five major forces happen to be able to find corresponding religious objects and regional countries in the historical map and political structure of their previous lives.

These similarities between the other world and my previous life.

Is it a coincidence?

Or are there some deeper reasons?

Todd has no clue what to do now.

"Halt! Stranger!" (Northern dialect)

A loud shout interrupted the commander's thoughts.

A warrior with centipede-like scars on his face emerged from the fog, looking at Todd warily.

The latter looked around and realized that he had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had unknowingly wandered far from the camp and walked to a high ground about a kilometer away from the beach.

Lev, who had been following Todd, swallowed hard upon seeing the newcomer's face, stepped forward, and said to the scarred man, "Morgan, watch your words! Offending this guest will bring annihilation upon your tribe!" (Northern language)

Morgan drew his hand axe from his waist, pointed it at Lev, and, glaring angrily, spat as he spoke: "Outsiders are not welcome here, and claws are even less welcome! Get off this island!" (Northern dialect)

After saying this, the man turned the axe blade towards Todd and roared in broken Common Continent, "Outsider, you're not welcome on the North Island!"

Just then, a large hand encased in steel reached out from behind Morgan and seized the iron axe in his hand. With a sickening scraping sound, the steel hand left a clearly visible handprint on the surface of the axe.

A knight, completely concealed beneath his armor, emerged from the mist, accompanied by a strong young man two meters tall. His eyes, reflected behind his helmet, revealed the pirate's terrified expression. The knight snatched the iron axe from the pirate's hand and bent it into an "L" shape with both hands.

Todd watched as Jerry snatched Morgan up with one hand like an eagle catching a chick, and said with a smile, "Don't make things too difficult for him. I've changed my mind. I want to talk to the Black Skull tribe, but first I need to teach these people what manners are."

Half an hour later, a wooden pillar was erected in the expeditionary camp of the Twilight Knights. Morgan was stripped naked and tied to the pillar.

His soles were covered in salt, and two goats stood on either side of him, licking the pirate's feet with their long tongues.

Amidst hysterical laughter, a clear and loud scream echoed throughout the entire island.

"Outsider, I know I was wrong! Bei Dao welcomes you!"