NEC Chapter 70: Successful River Crossing, Entering South Pass Territory

The long Crystal River channel, like a giant serpent flickering with deep blue light, wound across the earth. It seemed that as long as one dared to enter the water, anywhere could serve as a crossing point.

As for why they didn't use boats?

The river channel served as a boundary between nations, and the lords on both sides managed vessels with a strictness that bordered on insanity.

Moreover, the Greenspine Kingdom and Emerald Duchy had a specific contract between them: the "Rainbow Stone Treaty Prohibiting Water Vessels from Entering the Crystal River."

The turbulent Crystal River was originally unsuitable for boat navigation, and once any vessel traces were discovered, the treaty granted both sides the right to launch indiscriminate attacks without warning.

Thus, along the entire riverbank on both sides, except for Rainbow Stone Fortress, not even a dugout canoe could be found anywhere else.

Even if they made one on the spot, a dugout canoe couldn't cross the rushing Crystal River.

Of course, if you had a fourth-tier Goldscale Swordsman willing to enter the water, that would be different.

Using drones to continue reconnaissance upstream along the river channel, it was clear that the Greenspine Kingdom wasn't particularly concerned about the river's security protection.

Everyone saw through it quite clearly: enemies you could defeat simply couldn't cross this natural barrier, and those capable of forcing a river crossing, you probably couldn't defeat anyway. Since that was the case, why bother with such thorough inspections?

It was only because this was wartime that the Greenspine Kingdom would arrange a patrol of roving cavalry to run along the river channel once daily. Chen Mo calculated simply that as long as they chose the right timing, the Cloudmist Domain squad would have about ten hours of window time for a forced river crossing.

That was enough!

Deep in the mountain forest, everyone cut down six thick hardwood logs, split them open and carved out grooves, then carefully wrapped the altar, weapons, and other critical supplies in multiple layers of waterproof leather, firmly binding them within the grooves.

The squad timed their movements precisely, infiltrating to their final hiding position, whereupon Captain Paven issued a cruel command.

Kill all the warhorses.

This guard captain's decisions at critical moments were always particularly ruthless. He had abandoned expensive baggage and carriages, forcibly dismissed wounded soldiers and the lady's maidservants without mercy, let alone these few warhorses.

The captured warhorses didn't matter, but some horses had followed the team all the way south and north, traveling thousands of miles. The Cloudmist Domain warriors were extremely reluctant, some already showing tears.

Paven immediately chose to have them exchange mounts and execute the horses back-to-back. With one decisive command, everyone raised their blades and brought them down.

"Move out!"

Six log sections were pushed into the icy river water. All team members, including the young lady, Linda, Master Locke, and Chen Mo, were firmly tethered to the thick logs with ropes, surrounded and protected by other warriors as they all plunged into the rolling waves of the Crystal River.

Swordsman Paven charged alone at the very front, with all the ropes connecting the logs tightly wound around his broad waist.

In Chen Mo's drone night vision, the Goldscale Swordsman was like a violent orca, rising and falling in the water as he sprinted rapidly. Each backward stroke of his arms was like giant oars striking the water surface, exploding in waves seven to eight meters high!

The entire squad, along with the floating logs, was actually dragged by this inhuman strength in a wild manner resembling "sailing on land," moving forward all the way.

Due to the water current's impact, all team members along with the floating objects kept tilting downstream, the ropes stretched into a straight diagonal line. But this didn't affect the guard captain's momentum at all. He just dragged the entire squad across the Crystal River with ropes hanging all over his body.

Reaching the opposite shore, timing complete: exactly one hour and thirty-eight minutes.

The moment he stepped onto solid ground, Paven collapsed thunderously to the earth as if all his bones had been extracted, splashing mud and water everywhere. The warriors rushed forward, untied the ropes from the guard captain's body, and turned him over. Even in the darkness, Paven's chest could be seen heaving violently.

Master Locke quickly applied a series of various healing and recovery spells, observing closely. "He's fine, just overconsumption and exhausted strength. He'll be good after some rest."

A few minutes later, with the warriors' support, Paven slowly sat up.

Everyone finally let out suppressed, low cheers. Led by Linda and Master Locke, all members knelt to the ground, murmuring prayers toward the direction of their territorial capital.

No matter what, everyone had successfully set foot on Emerald soil.

In the crowd of kneeling people, only Chen Mo stood alone in the back, arms crossed, somewhat out of place and shivering slightly from the cold.

The Cloudmist Domain people were almost home.

But where was his own home?

As Captain Paven gradually recovered, he forced himself to get up and led the team quickly away from the dangerous riverbank, finding a new hiding place.

Over the next few days, Chen Mo continued patrolling with drones while Captain Paven led several scouts in reconnaissance, generally figuring out the main situation in the surrounding area.

Since war had suddenly erupted, rolling smoke had covered most of the Emerald Duchy. On this vast land north of the Crystal River, both sides were interlocked like dog teeth, fighting each other, with every piece of land potentially changing hands at any moment.

Currently, the area where Chen Mo and the others were located belonged to the South Pass Territory of the Emerald Duchy, the domain of Marquis Monroe, a powerful lord of the duchy.

Able to guard the duchy's southern border, South Pass Territory's strength within the Emerald Duchy was definitely among the top tier.

In terms of status, Cloudmist Domain was only an earldom while South Pass Territory was a marquis territory.

In terms of strength, Marquis Monroe had been sixth-tier for many years, while young Lady Frost's father was still only level five and a half.

In terms of population, Cloudmist Domain governed four cities and thirty-two stockades with a population of over 300,000, while South Pass Territory controlled seven cities and over eighty towns with a population exceeding one million.

At any time, Cloudmist Domain had to address South Pass Territory as "big brother."

But this big brother now had over two-thirds of his territory fallen. At least six invasion legions from different territories of the Greenspine Kingdom, flying their respective banners, surrounded South Pass Territory from multiple directions like greedy hyenas, frantically attacking the remaining defense lines.

South Pass Territory's field forces had basically been scattered, with remaining troops only able to huddle in several central towns, struggling to hold on while continuously sending distress signals to the duchy.

If the enemy forces from various territories hadn't started fighting independently after gaining absolute advantage, South Pass Territory probably couldn't have held out until now.

This was another of Chen Mo's knowledge blind spots.

Regarding Chen Mo's severely lacking basic noble knowledge, the Cloudmist Domain leaders also felt somewhat speechless, though no one intended to investigate deeply. Still, Paven stepped forward to explain to Chen Mo.

The feudal system of the Starry Continent was completely different from what Chen Mo had originally imagined, where a king would wave his hand grandly and say: "My dear minister, you have worked hard and achieved great merit. This fertile land is granted to you, to be inherited hereditary and passed down through generations."

A ruler with an intact brain wouldn't possibly grant away land he could control.

In earlier times when the continent was still in a relatively primitive and ignorant state, lords were called pioneering lords. Kings would indeed draw a circle and grant large areas of land to their subordinate lords, but those were all "lawless lands" overrun by magical beasts and occupied by foreign races.

Take it and you became a lord with territory; fail to take it and you remained a landless knight.

As exploitable wastelands on the continent became fewer and fewer, current lords should more appropriately be called "war lords."

Only what could be seized from enemy nations, hostile territories, and of course including hostile forces within their own country, could become their own territory.

Under such circumstances, when South Pass Territory had already fallen into absolute disadvantage, the cooperation foundation among various invading forces crumbled. Each surrounded their own favored area, even maintaining mutual vigilance against each other.

Such chaotic conditions made the squad's situation even worse than when they had operated within Greenspine Kingdom territory. The team dared not show themselves or approach those besieged major cities.

They could only move at extremely slow speed, taking advantage of darkness to shift from one hiding place to the next.

Until one day, Paven saw an old acquaintance through the drone's camera.

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