Chapter 244 – Lord Zhou Ye's Visit Experience

Even outside the Crimson Mist disaster months, the wilderness of the Eternal World teems with monsters, and a faint white mist perpetually shrouds the world.

The higher one flies, the thicker the white mist becomes.

Discovering small village or town-level territories is no easy task.

The same applies to locating monster camps and monster tribes.

Only households like Mu Yuan’s, possessing countless scout falcons and formidable military strength, can easily find those monster tribes that aren’t deeply hidden.

Red Leaf Territory naturally lacks many scout falcons.

Ordinary war falcons would perish after flying not far, and he couldn’t bear to simply release griffins either.

Finding surrounding territories relies on reasoning and tracking based on clues and traces.

Lord Zhou Ye of Red Leaf Territory has now discovered six territories located in this region.

Two of them are pioneering territories whose locations have long been public.

He visited them early on and reached understandings with these two lords.

Of the remaining four territories, he has already visited three.

Only this one remains.

“Speaking of which, this territory’s location is quite remote,” he mused.

It was only by chance that he discovered traces of merchant caravans passing through, then followed this clue to track down and roughly confirm the existence of a human territory in this area.

But from another perspective, a territory in such a remote location that managed to withstand the monster hordes during the trials must possess considerable strength.

Unlike the two territories he visited earlier, which appeared weak at first glance—he estimated they had few Professional Tier experts. The lords of such territories would need to hire veteran players as escorts just to travel any distance, naturally placing them outside his consideration for cooperation.

Too weak, won’t bring along.

Zhou Ye followed several leading soldiers along this somewhat maintained dirt road, his thoughts wandering.

Soon, the surrounding trees grew sparser, replaced by gradually increasing numbers of watchtowers and arrow towers standing tall across the land.

In the distance, newly cultivated farmland was visible, with farmers working among the fields.

This area hadn’t yet constructed the Blackrock Wall. Passing through these newly cultivated fields and walking further inward, one could eventually see a four-meter-high city wall standing quite imposingly.

The city gate stood open, with many citizens coming and going, transporting materials.

Soldiers patrolled both atop and below the walls, everything orderly, stable, and peaceful.

Zhou Ye nodded slightly.

Judging the whole from a part—just from these scenes before him, he could confirm this territory operated at no low level, whether in military strength or governance capability.

Unlike the previous territory he visited, where commoners wore either numb or fearful expressions, and many watchtowers and arrow towers bore unrepaired, weathered monster scratches.

That territory had clearly been breached by monsters, with many citizens killed or injured.

…

Tianyuan Territory originally wasn’t open to outsiders, but for a territory to develop and grow stronger, interaction with surrounding lords and various factions is essential.

Isolating one’s territory is highly inadvisable.

Turning away visiting lords at the gate also seems rather inappropriate.

Since a lord was visiting, Mu Yuan personally received him.

“Zhou Ye of White Cloud City,” said the armored lord, extending his hand.

Mu Yuan also extended his hand, “Mu Yuan of Baijiang City.”

He led this lord into the territory, naturally restricting the reception area to the South District.

In his planning, the South District would serve as the territory’s future window to the outside world—this area contained no secrets.Many lords made similar arrangements.

The core area had always been kept off-limits to outsiders; it was just that his restricted zone happened to be a tad larger than most.

However, since Tianyuan Territory currently lacked a dedicated reception venue, Mu Yuan decided to host the meeting at the First Canteen.

Eating and drinking aligned perfectly with Xuan Nation’s culture.

Lord Zhou Ye was an eloquent speaker, recounting his journey thus far.

“Before arriving here, I had visited several other territories, none as thriving as the one under Brother Mu’s governance.”

“However…” he sighed, “our cohort of lords seems born in unlucky times. Our territories were barely established when we encountered the perilous Crimson Mist Tide. Moreover, it’s said that during this Crimson Mist disaster month, the monster tides will be more ferocious than in previous years. That’s why I thought of forming an offensive and defensive alliance with neighboring territories—only through unity can we better survive the Crimson Mist Tide.”

“Before coming here, I had already reached preliminary alliance agreements with three other lords.”

“Offensive and defensive alliance?”

Mu Yuan pondered.

It took him a moment to grasp Lord Zhou Ye’s implication.

It referred to forming small cliques for mutual offense and defense.

Many lords adopted this approach, and the benefits were indeed substantial. Just like lone ranger players typically achieved far less than those who formed mercenary groups.

This was the advantage of banding together.

However, true strength needed no alliances.

The enemies of his Tianyuan Territory weren’t the monster tribes in the surrounding regions.

After a pause, Mu Yuan said, “Helping others in times of trouble is naturally what every Taixuan lord should do. Additionally, engaging in commodity trade would be excellent. Our territory has recently forged a batch of new equipment…”

An alliance was unnecessary.

But if any lord sent distress signals, his Tianyuan Territory would naturally offer assistance. Moreover, after hearing about Lord Zhou Ye’s visits to multiple territories, Mu Yuan realized he could engage in trade with neighboring lands.

Weaker lords in the vicinity, unable to travel far, typically could only trade with passing merchant caravans.

But caravans were scarce, and their goods were often overpriced.

In that case, why not dump equipment to these territories while purchasing raw materials? Currently, the shops in Stone Ridge Town hadn’t fully opened their sales channels, and selling at a discount to the town’s chambers of commerce was less profitable than selling to neighboring territories. Primarily because these territories weren’t far from his own, keeping transportation costs low.

As Master Li trained several forging apprentices, the blacksmith’s production capacity gradually increased, enabling medium-batch manufacturing of low-tier equipment.

The plan was feasible.

The remaining details could be left to Isloria and Daisy to refine.

As the lord, he only needed to propose suggestions—otherwise, what was the point of having capable staff?

Unaware of Mu Yuan’s thoughts, Zhou Ye’s smile stiffened slightly.

Had he not made himself clear enough?

An offensive and defensive alliance was mutually beneficial—at most, he, as the organizer, stood to gain just a bit more.

Well, hitting a wall didn’t matter. Different lords had different perspectives; he would simply try persuading him further.

As Zhou Ye contemplated, he followed Lord Mu to a spacious area.

On one side of the intersection lay a square paved with marble slabs. A small fountain stood at its center, surrounded by countless flower baskets, leaving Lord Zhou Ye momentarily stunned.

This Lord Mu’s territory was built with rather extravagant flair!Mu Yuan was, in fact, a pragmatist. Compared to established territories, his domain was rather rudimentary, with almost no decorative landscapes. But in the eyes of a newly appointed lord like Zhou Ye, being able to build a passable territory during this period already qualified as an excellent lord. Who had the funds or energy to bother with aesthetics and cleanliness?

It was only when this thought crossed his mind that Zhou Ye noticed how exceptionally clean and tidy Mu Yuan’s territory was.

Not only was litter rare on the streets, but more importantly… there was no! foul! odor!

No overwhelming stench of waste!

Unlike his own or others’ territories, where one had to tread cautiously in refugee living areas, constantly watching their step to avoid accidentally stepping on one or several sticky, soft piles.

Even in the core area of his territory, which was separated from the commoners’ living quarters, a gust of wind would sometimes carry the foul smell over.

It was utterly repulsive.

Truth be told, he had initially found the stench unbearable but had gradually grown accustomed to it.

Only now did he realize how immaculate Mu Yuan’s territory was—so clean that he felt like taking a deep breath to savor the rare fresh air.

No, he couldn’t take a deep breath. That would be too embarrassing.

Zhou Ye gradually calmed down but still felt envious. He subtly probed for Lord Mu’s methods of governing the people.

“What methods? Just build a few more public restrooms and bathhouse structures.”

Zhou Ye: “…”

He felt like saying nothing more, but his eyes continued scanning the surroundings.

He spotted their destination: the First Canteen.

Entertaining guests in such a place might seem humble, but he didn’t mind the simplicity. As he had thought earlier, any lord who could manage a territory decently during this period was remarkable.

Hosting a distinguished lord in a canteen felt entirely reasonable to him.

Zhou Ye also noticed the four-story Patrol Team Building. To a Blue Star native, it was just a low-rise structure, but compared to the crude thatched huts, wooden shacks, and two-story earthen buildings in most newly established territories, this tall and aesthetically pleasing building was undoubtedly a luxurious landmark.

However, compared to another bustling building at the end of the street, the previous two paled in significance.

Lord Zhou Ye couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Holy crap, a class-change building!”

…

“Holy crap, this is delicious!”

“Holy crap, Soaring Dragon meat!”

Unlike before, Zhou Ye seemed to transform into a foodie no less gluttonous than Dolai, devouring his meal with gusto.

He chatted about the amusing incidents during his territory’s development, whether from explorations or trips to Stone Ridge Town, but avoided any mention of offensive or defensive alliances.

Zhou Ye understood clearly.

A lord who possessed a class-change building was likely far more powerful than him.

What he wanted was leadership in an alliance, and he certainly couldn’t invite a lord stronger than himself.

Was having such a powerful neighbor a good or bad thing?

It was a mix of both.

During the Crimson Mist calamity month, the benefits probably outweighed the drawbacks.

He thought to himself and continued eating. He genuinely found the food delicious—the chef’s skills were exceptional, and the rare-grade Soaring Dragon meat was a true delicacy.

Brother Mu was indeed a generous host.

An alliance might not be suitable, but future trade between their territories could still be mutually beneficial.

After the meal, Mu Yuan escorted Lord Zhou Ye to the city gates and dispatched a squad of soldiers to see them off.

“Brother Mu, feel free to visit me when you have time.”

“Of course, of course.”Mu Yuan watched as the squad disappeared into the distance, then pulled out a map.

Marked on it were over a dozen neighboring territories, all discovered inadvertently by the War Falcons during their explorations.

Since their exploration efforts were concentrated in the northern direction, he had recorded only a few surrounding territories.

In the future, he would need to search more deliberately.

Second update…

(End of chapter)