Chapter 97
The further south you go on the continent of Icarus, the more refined and cultured the people become.
From Salem onwards, most people use horses, mules, or donkeys for transportation.
Taming magical beasts is not easy. Merchant guilds that sell magical beasts for transportation naturally employ a group of beast tamers. Only after training the magical beasts well and ensuring they will not be easily provoked can they set a price.
There are quite a few places selling magical beasts for transportation in District 11, but the most common are magical beast carriages. Sylvan's lion-beast carriage that day was one such magical beast carriage. Lion beasts are high-level magical beasts, and when they appear, other ordinary magical beasts dare not challenge them. Lion beasts are originally the most ferocious type of eighth-tier magical beasts—and naturally, the most beautiful type as well.
The two magical beasts on Sylvain's carriage were captured by Veris from the depths of the Amberley Mountains.
All other gates of the capital city of Lortheran allow the passage of magical beast carriages, except for the South Gate, which is the closest gate to the High Papacy. If one wishes to enter the city in a magical beast carriage, one must report to the High Papacy in advance.
Many people preferred to take a detour to the other three city gates rather than report to the Papacy in advance.
Leaving aside the local customs and culture of District 11, let's just talk about Phoenix, the northernmost region of the continent of Icarus.
The northernmost region of the continent of Icarus can be roughly divided into two parts: Phoenix and the Demon King's Forest. However, along the northern coast of the Demon King's Forest lies the Demon King's Abyss, above which are thousands of stone forests. The stones are hard and have withstood the cold currents for tens of thousands of years. It is said that it was originally a huge, thick rock, but now it has been polished by wind and frost into a stone forest, with rows of stones and sharp spikes pointing to the sky.
In the north of Phoenix, mountains and wilderness intertwine, with moss covering the smooth stones washed by flowing water, and only in spring and summer can one find a hint of green.
Most people gather in the depths of mountains and valleys to protect themselves from the cold, but if they encounter heavy snow, they risk being buried by the snow. Therefore, the chimneys of the fireplaces in most houses are built very high and sturdy.
Let them be buried in the snow, the people of Phoenix remained calm, simply reinforcing the walls silently.
Veris discovered that Phoenix's conversion rate was alarmingly high; almost only the minor nobles in the main city who were dependent on the Prince of Phoenix were not converting, while a full 99% of the population of Phoenix were converts.
He accessed the Phoenix County archives, which showed that the Papacy provided annual aid to churches in other counties. Hundreds of years ago, almost every county church faced various difficulties, but now, in the 11th district and further south, people are more affluent, and church resources are concentrated on literacy classes to train more qualified pastors.
Salem, Angara, and Daventry are sheltered from the elements by Phoenix and Demon Forest to the north, so the climate isn't particularly harsh.
The church now supplies Phoenix with 80% of the amount of flint and steel it supplied to other parts of the north a century ago.
To put it another way, these flint and steel could power a family's fireplace all day long, or fill a basement for ten thousand years.
Before winter, the Phoenix Church would sell flint and steel to believers at extremely low prices. Those who lived far away and couldn't go to the church to buy it only needed to register when the pastors came to preach in their neighborhood. On a set day, the pastors would haul cartloads of flint and steel to the homes scattered across the wasteland.
The low price was three flints and two silver coins. When Veris was a bard in Albion, he could earn several dozen silver coins for a performance in one night. Including tips, it would be one or two hundred silver coins.
The Prime Minister's wife's expensive dress cost more than 70,000 silver coins.
Related to the Phoenix people's tradition of revering and loving life, as well as the harsh environment here, there are no vicious criminals in the entire Phoenix County. And because of the extremely high conversion rate, almost every inch of this land is imbued with Orlando's faith.
Even though the literacy classes didn't go smoothly, almost every child could sing church hymns.
The northern mountains are barren, connecting to an equally desolate wasteland. Several small rivers flow through the wasteland, and occasionally wild beasts can be seen scurrying about. The monsters, crawling on all fours, cautiously cross the narrow streams, afraid of accidentally falling onto the person on their back.
The beast looked dark-skinned, resembling a tiger or a lion, but covered in black scales. Its long tail dragged on the ground, oblivious to the icy stream and mud. It walked cautiously through the mountains, its dark yellow eyes fixed intently on the rugged path before it.
It had a luxurious saddle on its back, and Veris looked at the terrain map the dragon had drawn for him—it was ugly.
After looking at it for a while, he sighed and took out the Phoenix map that Earl Reed had been asked to draw a few days ago. This one was still easier to accept.
He thought the dragon's lines were just a shaky hand, but it turned out they were low hills.
Veris: "..."
The dragon was furious; it had drawn the picture so precisely!
The magical beast, carrying a luxurious saddle, was startled by the human's sigh and its eyes darted around wildly.
It's pitiful that this ninth-tier magical beast, which roamed freely in the Phoenix Mountains and the Demon King's Forest, would run away at the mere sight of it.
That day, it suddenly encountered a human, who looked it over and then nodded.
The beast was enraged; this man had shown it contempt!
In just five seconds, the rage turned into tears; it was actually the animal that should have run away...
In just five seconds, it was punched to the brink of death, then saved by magic. Before it could even recover, it was blasted into dust by magic again. Just when it thought its glorious life as a northern beast had ended in those four seconds, a ray of light fell, and its shattered body was instantly repaired.
Warcraft: "!!"
The monster dared not ponder what this thing in human skin was, and immediately groveled and fawned, obeying the human's every command.
Only those that survive... are truly powerful beasts...
These past few days it carried this person all over the familiar northern part of Phoenix, finally stopping on a desolate wasteland in the far north.
It watched as the human gazed at the wasteland—facing north—for a long time, then patted it, gesturing for it to go to the end.
Warcraft did as instructed.
Next, it saw something that terrified it.
The youth left its back, then hovered in mid-air, stepping on the air. He produced a long red staff from nowhere, pointed it at the sky, and a huge light gold magic circle appeared.
The monster was terrified of the magic circle and lay on the ground trembling.
The pale gold magic circle spread and expanded. Whether it was its imagination or not, it felt that this magic circle was not like the one used by other magicians—it was circular. This magic circle was elliptical. Then, gradually, its outline began to distort.
There are even magic circles that aren't perfectly round!
The magic circle can actually take on this shape!
Is this person drawing with a magic circle?
The monster was terrified, staring at the magic circle that covered half the cliff and half the ocean, wondering what the human was up to.
The human figure was incredibly small, hovering beneath the distorted magic circle, and then pointed downwards.
In an instant, the earth shook violently, and the monster was terrified, but it dared not move, because the human had already set up a magic circle on it, probably because the human's luggage was still hanging on it.
The ground trembled violently, and the monster felt that it was doomed to die today, either buried under the crumbling earth or drowning in the ocean... It was a land-dwelling monster!
But soon, its vision changed, and the magic circle carried its body to a more distant place in mid-air. The monster's dark yellow pupils dared not move, staring blankly at the scene.
What did it see...?
Originally, at the end of that cliff, below were waves crashing against the precipice. Now, a wet mountain rises abruptly from the ground, covered with obvious coral, resembling an underwater mountain.
Fish and shellfish tumbled down with a soft rustling sound. The mountain grew higher and higher, and further north, another mountain rose, towering high. One mountain after another appeared, and the stench of the seabed filled the air.
An unseen force threw the innocent creatures brought out of the sea back into the ocean, even further away.
Floating in the sky, Veris remained calm as his staff methodically drew magic circles, reinforcing the mountain, altering its structure, and connecting them together.
Small islands scattered across the northern ocean were also drawn in, either directly incorporated or dismantled, merging with the newly formed underwater mountain range.
Veris meticulously sculpted the newly formed mountain range.
As the monster gazed at the scene in the distance that defied its understanding, a figure suddenly, yet with unwavering certainty, appeared in its mind.
The Pope Orlando, whose name resounds throughout humanity, was the strongest being on the continent of Icarus, and had lived for countless years.
So young, so powerful, capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, creating an entire mountain range in the blink of an eye and forcefully expanding the territory of the continent of Icarus.
The monster made a heavy, panting sound.
However, just as it was still pondering, it suddenly felt a pressure emanating from its bloodline. A magical beast of a higher rank than itself had arrived!
It looked around in a panic and soon spotted a dark shadow on the horizon that was getting closer and closer. When it was still quite a distance away, it saw the true face of the magical beast that was even more powerful than a ninth-tier magical beast.
--dragon! !
It screamed silently in its heart, but its body lay prostrate, not daring to move an inch. A huge black shadow covered its body. It wanted to cry but had no tears. The dragon's pressure was not subdued at all. The ninth-order magical beast, which was always domineering, never expected to be in such a miserable state today.
The dragon's voice drifted from afar, sounding close to the human boy, but it was very serious: "What are you doing, Veris?"
“Didn’t you see? Dragon, I’m building mountains.” Veris didn’t look at it.
Dragon: "Of course I know! But, but like this... don't you know? Icarus's territory cannot be changed."
Its voice sounded somewhat anxious.
Veris remained unmoved: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
The dragon was still very anxious, circling around in the sky, but it was powerless to do anything and could only watch helplessly as Icarus's territory expanded.
New land means new history.
The dragon race is an ancient race, and the legacy of countless generations has all come to mind. The dragon felt a sense of dread, a fear stemming from its bloodline's reverence for ancient rules and the hazy memories of countless predecessors.
It couldn't help but look at the young man who hovered beneath the vast sky and above the boundless mountain shadows.
Those heterochromatic eyes were calm and still, as if they were completing a trivial task.
Only the sleeping god of love was suddenly awakened, only to find that the romantic sea cliffs he had carefully chosen had turned into a barren mountain covered with seaweed and silt.
She couldn't help but scream, "What's going on?! Veris—!"
Veris, who had received the mental attack from the Mother Goddess, tilted his head and said, "This is the guidance of fate, Mother Goddess."
Cupid: "..."
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Author's Note: Cupid: To hell with your life! o(╥﹏╥)o
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