Mercenary Wars

Chapter 172 The Kiso Mountains
"A bird?"

Listening to Ryan's account, everyone looked puzzled and exchanged glances.

Ryan shrugged dismissively: "Perhaps Kassan learned some hunter magic. I heard that unlike many nobles, he doesn't consider hunters and thieves to be lowly professions. The last few knights who followed him were said to be people of humble origins whom he had appointed."

"Anyway, the war is over!" someone breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. I originally thought it would be a long war."

"It's over, but don't forget we now belong to the border guards and will have to stay in the fortress until our leave arrives."

"Oh, I'm a little envious of Gaucano!"

"Gaucano, what are you planning to do when you get back? Sign a 'customized contract' with a mercenary group? You're now a 'Warrior of Nordanron' and a 'Citybreaker,' you're more than qualified!"

Gaucano casually remarked, "Perhaps, but before that, I need to go to the Land of Tides—the one Master Tavasd told me about."

"Are you sure? That's a fourth-tier tidal land!"

“I know,” Gao Jiano nodded, “but it’s precisely in the higher-level Tidal Lands that it’s easier to reap rewards, isn’t it? Maybe I can harvest a patch or two of Eternal Forgetfulness Moss.”

“Even in the Land of Tides, the chances of encountering Forget-Me-Not are slim. I’ve heard that some people have gone more than ten times and never encountered it once.” People clearly thought he was a bit optimistic.

Gaucano remained noncommittal.

Just as he was about to say something, a dwarf soldier suddenly waved to him from afar: "Gaugano, General Muradin said you can go back to Southshore!"

"Thank you!" Gao Jiano replied.

He then bid farewell to everyone and returned to Nanhai Town.

Watching him leave, John seemed to suddenly remember something: "Brothers, I've always had a question. No, two questions."

"What question do you have now?" People looked away.

John: "Why do you think Gaucano was unwilling to have his fortune told? And why did Daniel and Barons' fortunes turn out the opposite?"

“What’s so strange about that?” Thomas said. “There are plenty of people who don’t like divination. Isn’t there a saying that ‘every gift of fate comes with a price tag’? As for Daniel and Barons, one is an overseer and the other a miner. The army is simply not a good fit for them. Just like we have a hard time fitting into the Gavin Chamber of Commerce.”

Ryan sighed, "Let alone them, I'm not used to it here myself—the border guards have so many rules, ten times more than the mercenary groups."

"Back in the mercenary group, I always thought that the duty of army chaplains was to heal wounded soldiers. Now that I'm with the border guards, I realize that their main duty is actually to explain the 'Holy Scripture of Light'!" the former mercenaries complained.

"How about we go back to the mercenary group? Didn't Lucius say he could give us a raise?"

"Forget it, to be honest, I'm not optimistic about the mercenary group's future at all. Putting aside the fact that Lucius's right arm has become a decorative prosthetic, the bigger problem is that there won't be any more battles to fight! It won't be long before Lucius fires us, and the Crusaders don't fire anyone easily!"

“That makes sense! After Dibto was captured, Southsea Town will be far from the border! Not only will there be no more battles to fight, but even the business of guarding and assisting in maintaining order will decrease!”

"This is bad news for the mercenary group, but good news for Southsea Town... I bet it won't be long before Southsea Town becomes 'Southsea City'!"

"Next time I go on vacation, I'll buy another house. I'm sure I'll make a fortune in a few years!"

……

With the fall of the entire Duchy of Debuto and the exile of Marquis Cassane, the war had effectively ended in victory for the Mosa.

The Principality's army is still clearing out the remaining resistance forces in Dubto, but the conscripted soldiers have gradually returned to their lives, and Gaucano was one of the first to go back.

After returning to Southsea Town, he rested briefly before setting off again for the Kiso Mountains to the east.

The Kiso Mountains.

A supermountainous region with at least hundreds of thousands of peaks, its area exceeds the total land area of ​​all the Mosa nations, and some even believe it is larger than the entire city of Sifararo.

Because of its existence, the continent of Farallo was divided into two almost completely isolated parts: the west was mainly dominated by the Mosaic and Yamenic religions, while the east was mainly dominated by the Muro religion.

The people on both sides are aware of each other's existence, but that's all they know. They haven't had any real communication for a long time—whether in the form of peace or conflict.

Occasionally, someone claims to have crossed mountains to arrive, but most are proven to be fraudsters—the kind of low-level swindlers who use "Anecdotes of Eastern Fararo" as their main guide to deception. Presumably, there are similar people in the Eastern Continent, after all, there's also a book called "Anecdotes of Western Fararo."

The Kiso Mountains create such a degree of isolation, and their towering, rugged, and continuous geographical features are only one, and relatively minor, reason for this.

The real reason is that the Kiso Mountains are still a dangerous area.

Danger takes many forms.

High-level magical beasts go without saying; in people's eyes, this is the most famous specialty of the Kiso Mountains.

The danger posed by the forest trolls should not be underestimated. The trolls once ruled almost the entire continent, but since their civilization declined, the fertile plains and coastlines have become unavailable to them, leaving only the deep forests to provide them with shelter.

Besides the living creatures, the Kiso Mountains also contain many dangerous inanimate objects. For example, there are ancient ruins, which may be the work of blood elves or ancient trolls, or they may be mysterious tombs from prehistoric times, but what is certain is that some of them still retain working magic circles and traps.

The Kiso Mountains certainly have many tidal flats; in fact, there are tens of thousands. However, since these tidal flats are mostly closed off and strictly isolated from the outside world, they are not considered dangerous unless one deliberately goes there at specific times.

The most dangerous place is actually the land of newly emerging tides.

Tidal zones are not things that have existed since time immemorial; they do not disappear, but they do arise.

There are many theories about their causes.

But the formation of tidal lands has never stopped, and the Kiso Mountains are the main area where new tidal lands gather. It is said that tidal lands form in the Kiso Mountains on average every year, randomly turning a normal forest into an isolated area.

The last war between the eastern and western continents was thus interrupted.

That happened over a thousand years ago.

At that time, the Mosa nation of the Western Continent formed a huge expeditionary force, which set off in a grand manner, full of ambition, and vowed to give the infidels in the East a head-on blow!

As a result, during the expeditionary force's crossing of the Kiso Mountains, a tidal land suddenly formed, directly trapping most of the expeditionary force within it.

This tidal land is also very enduring.

After it was formed, it remained closed for thousands of years, and it has never been opened even once to this day, not even a hint of opening has appeared.

The Church of Mosa made many efforts; the Pope, cardinals, and archmages personally presided over magic circles in an attempt to forcibly open the Tidal Veil. However, in the face of the might of nature, mortal magic was ultimately too weak. No matter how the Church tried, the Tidal Veil remained unmoved.

It is conceivable that the Mosa expeditionary force trapped there would have been wiped out long ago, perhaps not even a bone would remain.

This tragic end, where the mission failed before it even began—which might seem like an unprecedentedly funny joke to Easterners—directly led to a serious internal strife within the Mosaic Church and indirectly contributed to a series of subsequent events, including the opportunistic invasion by the Yemeni state.

Many even believe that the internal struggles within the church today are a continuation of this incident. The church has always remained tight-lipped about it, as such an absurd and accidental catastrophic event, combined with the doctrine of "Mosa's omniscience and omnipotence," sounds remarkably like divine punishment. This precedent makes the depths of the Kiso Mountains exceptionally terrifying and taboo.

Most people dare not venture into the deep regions of the Kiso Mountains, and Gaugano is no exception.

However, he didn't care much about the newly formed Tidal Land. After all, he had read quite a few books and knew that it was ultimately a low-probability event. In the vast Kiso Mountains, the chances of encountering such a thing were extremely small.

The main reason he dared not venture deep into the mountains was the presence of magical beasts.

In the world of Farallo, monsters of level 10 and above are found in only two places: the boundless ocean and the Kiso Mountains.

Last year, there was a news story that a hunting party from the Kingdom of Liberland captured a level 13 magical beast with some dragon blood in the depths of the Kiso Mountains, which caused a sensation.

Let's not even mention level 13 magical beasts.

Even a level 10 magical beast is far beyond Gaogano's ability to handle; if he encounters a particularly fast one, he won't even be able to run away.

The depths are extremely dangerous, to the point that forget-me-not plants can grow in the open areas; the outer areas are slightly better, but still quite dangerous, and are hunting grounds for elite adventurers.

Only the edge of the Kiso Mountains—the area near the South Dashir River—is relatively popular with adventurers.

The tidal land that Master Tavasd divined was located on the edge of the Kiso Mountains.

Therefore, when Gaucano arrived, there were already dozens of adventurers waiting nearby.

One of them was an acquaintance.

"Colin?" Gao Jiano asked, looking at a somewhat familiar, thin figure from behind.

The figure turned around at the sound and it was Colin, who had participated in the Level 3 Hunter Exam with Gaucano.

Colin looked somewhat surprised: "Gaucano, you're here too."

Gao Jiano stepped forward and nodded, saying, "Yes, the fortune teller told me that this Tidal Land will open soon, so I came to try my luck."

He changed the subject: "You came here based on the divination results too?"

Colin shook his head: "No, it's a scroll of revelation."

Gaucano looked somewhat surprised.

“Just a few days ago, I stumbled upon a scroll of revelation that I could use,” Colin said slowly. “I tore it open and received the revelation, which led me here.”

"Besides bringing you here, is there anything else in the revelation?" Gaogano couldn't help but ask.

Colin hesitated for a moment, looked around, and then whispered, "The revelation told me to enter this land of tides with my eyes closed in search of treasure."

"Enter the Tidal Land with your eyes closed!" Gaucano almost thought he'd misheard. "Are you sure?"

Colin nodded.

"You're planning to do that too?"

Colin nodded again.

Gaucano paused briefly, then said, "To be honest, if it were me, I definitely wouldn't do it; it's too dangerous."

“I believe in my name giver,” Colin said. “I am a faithful follower of His, and He will protect me.”

He seemed to remember something: "You must not tell anyone else about this. I've only told you."

"Of course, I understand."

The two were talking.

Then a voice rang out: "Hey, big guy!"

The two turned around and saw a dwarf walking towards them. The dwarf had a thick gray beard, held a staff, and was dressed in a sailor uniform, which looked rather incongruous.

“My name is Millhouse!” the dwarf introduced himself with a smile, “a genius mage, a devout Mosaic, and an experienced sailor!”

“Oh, by the way, I’m a Level 5 Named Person,” he added. “And you?”

“I am a Level 4 Named Person,” Colin said calmly.

“Level 4, well, it seems we’re destined not to be teammates…” Millhouse sighed, a hint of disappointment on his face.

The level restrictions of the Tier 4 Tidal Lands will change by four levels every four days.

In other words, those who enter the first four days are named individuals at levels zero to four, while those who enter the fifth to eighth days are likely named individuals at levels five to eight.

Therefore, level 4 and level 5 cannot be teammates.

Unless the Level 4 named individuals are willing to relinquish their first-mover advantage and postpone their entry into the Tidelands with the Level 5 named individuals, sharing the unpredictable risks.

Milhouse then looked at Gaucano.

Instead of answering, Gao Jiano said directly, "Sorry, I'm not interested in forming a team."

“Uh.” Milhouse paused for a moment, then raised his staff and said, “I’m very powerful. Look at this in my hand, a genuine level six staff! Look at the crystal core on it, dug out of the head of a level six sea monster!”

"Oh, really?" Gaucano remained expressionless.

He certainly couldn't team up with anyone.

Firstly, he possesses plant perception, making him far more likely to collect Forget-Me-Not plants than others. If he teams up with someone, is he going to share the Forget-Me-Not moss he finds?

On the other hand, he was also confident in his own strength; even if he couldn't win, escaping shouldn't be a problem.

He didn't plan to stay in the Tidal Land for long; he would just scavenge the high-level plants within his perception range and then leave.

Gaugano wore an indifferent expression, but Milhouse persisted in promoting himself: "Hey buddy, have you ever been to Ocalagan? You know, Ocalagan Island, one of the main islands of the Broken Isles."

“I’ve never been there,” Gao Jiano said.

“I knew you hadn’t been there,” Millhouse said with a smug smile. “Otherwise, you would have certainly heard of the name ‘Millhouse’!”

(End of this chapter)