Thud!
Arthur collapsed to the ground, signaling the end of the duel.
With the Demon Axe having given up and his opponent being a True God, Arthur had stood no chance of victory. This outcome had been expected by everyone, including Arthur himself.
Arthur rolled over, shifting from lying face-down to lying on his back. Gazing up at the sky, he sighed, "As expected, you guys are truly powerful!"
After resting for a moment, Arthur slowly rose to his feet, limping over to Cerydra and kneeling before her on one knee. "Then, as agreed, I pledge my loyalty to you and will support you, Imperator, in becoming the true King of the Northern Territory!"
With this declaration, the most powerful clan in the entire Northern Territory had submitted to the Northern Territory Empire. Cerydra's campaign to unify the Northern Territory had now crossed the halfway mark. All that remained was to gather the scattered minor clans across the region.
Watching Arthur kneel before her, Cerydra nodded gently. "I accept your allegiance and will fulfill your wish: to unite and establish a strong Northern Territory Empire!"
Afterward, Cerydra and the others led the entire Black Bear Clan on a massive migration toward the Northern Territory's center. The vast procession formed a conspicuous, straight line across the desolate ice plains.
Two months passed. The Northern Territory Empire's total population had swelled to over 1.2 million and continued to grow steadily each day.
Buildings rose from the ground like mushrooms. As the Barbarians' construction skills improved, they finally received Cerydra's permission to begin constructing her first imperial palace: the Winter Palace.
In a normal nation, this point would have long called for establishing branch cities. With over 1.2 million people crammed into a single location, the population was far too dense. However, for the Northern Territory, this wasn't a major issue.
Other nations establish branch cities primarily due to management difficulties and the inability of a single city to sustain such a large population with adequate food and resources. Additional considerations include terrain, commerce, and other logistical factors.
In the Northern Territory, none of these concerns mattered. With a vast force of fiercely loyal, bald-headed Barbarians, Cerydra's orders were always carried out flawlessly. The potatoes growing on the ice and the fish teeming beneath it ensured ample food supplies. And if all else failed, Okhema stood ready as a safety net.
As for terrain and commerce, the Northern Territory offered neither. It was a vast, flat expanse of ice, allowing cities to expand without limit. Commerce, as a concept, had yet to take root in this frozen realm.
One day, a green-haired half-elf trudged across the desolate ice. A frigid wind swept through, causing him to shiver twice as he muttered under his breath, "Ugh, what rotten luck! Why did this mission have to fall to me in the end?"
If Cipher were here, she would have instantly recognized him as Dio, the former Diplomat of the All Nations Alliance and a Gold-tier Bard.
Tap, tap...
As Dio walked, his keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching from the side. He immediately turned toward the source of the noise, and soon another figure came into view.
The man was at least 1.8 meters tall, powerfully built, with a square-shaped face. He was bundled in thick cotton clothes and exhaling visible breaths as he walked, clearly freezing cold.
As Dio spotted him, the man naturally noticed Dio too, and both paused in surprise.
After a moment, Dio spoke first. "Uh, brother, you... you doing alright?"
The square-faced man replied, "Uh... you too?"
"Didn't expect to run into anyone else out here on the Great Ice Plain," Dio said. "Quite a rare sight."
"Tell me about it," the man agreed. "This godforsaken place is freezing. If it weren't for the recent war between the Empire and the Alliance disrupting trade, who'd even bother dealing with these Northern Territory Barbarians?"
Dio feigned surprise. "What a coincidence! You're here to trade with the Northern Territory Barbarians too? But... you're all alone?"
The man paused before answering, "Aren't you alone too?"
They stared silently at each other for a moment. Though their conversation seemed cordial on the surface, both were secretly cursing the other inwardly.
Dio: Damn it, why would Empire people be here? Pretending to be here for trade? Who do they think they're fooling? This guy's probably a spy, here to gather intel on the Northern Territory.
Meanwhile, the square-faced man, the Empire Diplomat, thought: What rotten luck! How could I bump into an Alliance member here? Mimicking my words? Claiming to be here for trade? Who are they trying to trick? Do they think I'm stupid?
After another long silence, both men chuckled simultaneously. "Actually," Dio said, "I'm not alone. The main force is right behind me. I'm just scouting ahead. After all, these Northern Territory Barbarians move around a lot, so we need to find them before we can do business, right?"
The Empire Diplomat echoed, "Exactly! We need to find them first to trade!"
Another long silence stretched between them. Finally, Dio said, "Let's move, then."
The Empire Diplomat echoed, "Let's move~"
They began marching in silence. The Empire Diplomat subtly reached for the sword hilt at his waist, but Dio immediately noticed. "Nice sword, brother," Dio remarked.
The Empire Diplomat froze, then replied smoothly, "Of course. This is one of the weapons I plan to trade with the Northern Territory Barbarians. A weapon of this quality should fetch quite a few good items, don't you think?"
A while later, Dio furtively reached for the flute at his waist, but the Empire Diplomat immediately noticed. "Brother, that instrument looks quite fine!" he remarked.
Dio's expression stiffened. "Of course!" he retorted. "It's a specialty from my homeland. No special technique required—just a simple blow, and it produces decent music. I imagine the Northern Territory Barbarians, with their limited entertainment, would appreciate something like this."
"Is that so? Ha ha ha~" the Empire Diplomat chuckled.
Dio laughed along. "Exactly! Ha ha ha~"
Then, in perfect unison, both men turned their heads and spat on the ground. Immediately afterward, they turned back and resumed their 'cheerful' conversation.
It's worth noting that their strides were eerily synchronized—almost identical. They walked side-by-side, maintaining a parallel formation with about three meters of space between them.
If one slowed down even half a step, the other would instantly match pace. If one paused to adjust their clothing, the other would instantly follow suit.
"Hahaha~" the Empire Diplomat chuckled.
"Hahaha~" Dio echoed.
And so, amidst this forced camaraderie, the two silently continued their journey. After enduring three to four hours of grueling travel, they finally reached the Northern Territory's center, where a vibrant, lush green vegetable garden spread before them.
Both men's missions were to investigate the Northern Territory Empire, and their coincidental meeting occurred precisely because they had both arrived near the territory's borders.
Upon witnessing this sight, they reacted identically. Simultaneously raising their hands, they rubbed their eyes, only to find the scene unchanged when they reopened them. In unison, they exclaimed, "How... how can there be a vegetable garden here?!"
Just then, a Barbarian spotted the two strange figures and slowly approached. After scrutinizing them suspiciously, he asked, "Hey, you guys aren't locals, are you? Where are you from?"
After a moment of deliberation, Dio and the Empire Diplomat answered simultaneously:
"The Grand Duchy of Kandela!" x2
This was Aria's homeland, a small nation nestled between the Empire and the Alliance. Due to the Travel Book incident, a devastating famine had struck the region, stripping it of its strategic value. Consequently, the Empire refrained from launching an attack, sparing the Grand Duchy of Kandela from the ravages of war.
Neither the Empire Diplomat nor Dio could reveal their true origins, so they randomly chose a small nation, never imagining they would pick the same one.
The two men exchanged a glance. Dio chuckled, "Ha ha ha! What a coincidence! Turns out we're from the same hometown!"
The Empire Diplomat echoed with forced laughter, "Ha ha ha! Indeed, quite the coincidence~"
The Barbarian, however, remained utterly clueless. "Grand Duchy of Kandela? Never heard of it," he grunted. "So, what brings you here?"
"We're here to trade," Dio replied, gesturing to the Empire Diplomat's longsword. "He's selling swords."
The Empire Diplomat reciprocated, pointing to the flute at Dio's waist. "And he's selling musical instruments."
The Barbarian's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, here to trade? We haven't seen merchants in ages. Come, come! What are you looking to exchange?"
As previously mentioned, the Northern Territory has no currency. Transactions here still rely on bartering. Moments later, the Empire Diplomat and Dio each shouldered a sack of potatoes and walked through the streets of the Northern Territory Empire.
Naturally, every trade involves both gain and loss. The Empire Diplomat's waist-mounted weapon and Dio's flute had vanished.
Now disarmed and within the Northern Territory Empire, both men abandoned all pretense and began hurling insults at each other. Dio spat, "Damn Imperial dog! Do you realize how precious my flute was? It was a Magic Item, and you forced me to trade it for a sack of potatoes?!"
The Empire Diplomat retorted, "Damn Alliance monkey! Do you know how valuable my sword was?! It was an Adamantine weapon! And you forced me to trade it for a sack of potatoes?!"
Amidst their mutual cursing, however, the two men couldn't help but glance around at the neat rows of brick houses and the orderly stream of Barbarians walking down the streets. Bewilderment crept onto their faces. "How did these brick houses come to be?"
"When did these Northern Territory Barbarians become so disciplined?"
After all, the Northern Territory Barbarians had always been synonymous with backwardness, savagery, and bloodshed. Yet the scenes unfolding before them constantly shattered their preconceived notions.
Dio personally witnessed a bald Barbarian directing operations on a construction site, while other Barbarians efficiently carried out their respective tasks—some hauling bricks, others building structures—all with remarkable efficiency.
Since their mission was to gather intelligence, Dio naturally approached the Barbarian foreman to ask questions. He pulled two potatoes from the burlap sack slung over his shoulder and offered them to a Barbarian who had just sat down, seemingly preparing to rest. "Brother," Dio said, "could I ask you a few quick questions?"
Offering a small gift—like a cigarette or, in a tavern, a drink—often works wonders. Accepting such a token of goodwill would make it awkward for the recipient to refuse to answer.
The Barbarian paused, but declined the potatoes. "No need for gifts," he said. "These potatoes are distributed freely every day. Everyone gets enough to eat. Even if you gave me more, I couldn't eat them all—they'd just go to waste."
"As for your questions, just ask. But I don't know much—I might not be able to answer everything."
The moment Dio heard this, his first thought wasn't surprise or curiosity, but a burning sense of loss: I got completely ripped off!
Dio had acquired this sack of potatoes through a trade with a bald Barbarian. The Barbarian claimed they were a specialty of the Northern Territory—abundant, filling, and delicious. However, due to the mutual disdain between Dio and the Empire Diplomat, both had sold their weapons at "bargain prices" in exchange for the sack of potatoes.
Now, it seemed clear that if these potatoes were freely distributed daily, they couldn't be worth much at all. The more Dio thought about it, the more distressed he became.
Yet he couldn't blame anyone else. After all, the bald Barbarian hadn't lied; it was the Empire Diplomat and Dio's constant belittling of each other's weapons that had led the Barbarian to believe longswords and flutes were practically worthless. In fact, during the trade, the Barbarian had even generously tossed in a few extra potatoes out of "kindness."
Dio took a deep breath. The mission was paramount. He asked, "By the way, I was wondering where you get all these bricks from?"
The Barbarian immediately replied, "From the ice, of course! Where else would they come from?"
Dio: "?"
The Empire Diplomat beside him: "?"
Dio probed further, "From the ice... How do they grow?"
The Barbarian raised an eyebrow, giving Dio a look as if he were a fool. "How else would they grow? Just like these potatoes, duh. Plant the seeds, and they slowly grow out of the ice."