Chapter 461: Chapter 460: The Past of White Stone Tower
East Coast, a cluster of over a hundred and ten nations.
Among these nations, the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom might not be considered the largest, but it was undeniably of the “cannot be overlooked” caliber.
Unlike the Blue Lion Kingdom, which only had a population of a few hundred thousand, and unlike the Jade Kingdom, ho to Prince Gro with its population of over three million, the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom could be regarded as a major power in the current world.
Its territory occupied roughly one-tenth of the entire East Coast, with a population close to ten million and a regular military force nearly a hundred thousand strong. Although the quality of the forces might be sowhat lackluster, the sheer number still commanded respect.
After all, in the current world, maintaining an army was incredibly expensive, which is why many Small Nobles had no troops at their disposal and relied on rcenaries in tis of urgency. The size of an army, in a certain sense, represented a nation’s overall strength.
In this respect, the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom certainly had much confidence, benefiting from the rich legacy left by the defunct Black Spirit Empire.
Therefore, excluding the Wizards’ factor, so matters concerning Black Holy Mountain had significant implications for the surrounding regions—for example, the current war between the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom and the Luobu Kingdom had more than ten other small countries observing, waiting to see how Black Holy Mountain Kingdom would respond. After all, the performance of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom’s frontline was truly disheartening; their troops had been forced back several hundred miles within their own territory, which was a sight that provoked anxiety.
But—
Deep within the southern military camps of the Black Spirit Empire, far away from the frontline, not a single person showed signs of anxiety—here, one could hardly feel any atmosphere of war as if the conflicts in the north were entirely unrelated to the several thousand soldiers in the camp.
Many tents dotted the high ground, with laughter, the antics of inebriated soldiers, and the stern disciplining of soldiers by officers emanating at tis from within the tents—how dare soone hoard liquor, how dare soone drink before offering it to the officers to have a taste? That deserves a beating! Rember next ti, don’t pour any liquor into your mouth until the officers have had a drink! Beat them to a pulp! Bang, bang, bang!
In the camp’s central location, the situation was a bit calr. The Guard Cavalry Team maintained strict military discipline, and the rest of the soldiers, aware that the esteed Princess Palace was nearby, dared not act too recklessly, and it was unusually quiet.
Amidst the quiet, within the central large tent.
Nurous candles were lit, casting brilliant illumination. A square table was set with Richard and Princess Rose seated at opposite ends. The table was laden with food: roasted mountain chicken, roasted rabbit, roasted lamb legs, roasted quail, bread, eel soup, boiled lettuce in saltwater, boiled peas, boiled cabbage, boiled turnips…
Perhaps the flavors weren’t that remarkable, but it certainly qualified as a sumptuous dinner.
“How is it?” Princess Rose asked, gesturing to the food on the table and inquiring of Richard, “Do these dishes suit your taste? Why are you frowning? Aren’t you satisfied with the food?”
“It’s not that I’m unsatisfied,” Richard shook his head, “I’m just puzzled. Logically, you shouldn’t be treating with such warmth. To have such a lavish dinner in this military camp isn’t easy, is it?”
“What does it matter?” Princess Rose said nonchalantly, “I have money.”
Richard: “…” He had to admit, that was a convincing reason indeed.
“Alright!” Princess Rose exclaid, slicing what looked to be a soften black baked loaf of bread into slices with a dining knife, and placing a piece on Richard’s plate. “Try this first, then you can talk. Just to tell you, this isn’t just any black bread, but Black Sugar Ginger Juice Bread, very delicious. You can’t usually find this kind of bread in other places.”
“Uh…” Richard responded, glancing at the bread, but made no move to eat it.
“What’s the matter, afraid I’ve poisoned it?” Princess Rose urged, and to prove her “innocence,” she cut a piece of bread for herself and ate it, then looked at Richard, “I’ve eaten it; you can eat it now, right?”
“Alright,” Richard said, taking a bite of the bread. After swallowing, he found that it actually tasted quite good. Looking up at Princess Rose, he remarked, “Actually, I don’t suppose you would poison it, but your behavior is indeed curious, as if you harbor so unspeakable purpose.”
“Don’t be paranoid, there’s nothing of the sort,” Princess Rose said earnestly.
“It’s best that way,” Richard said, starting to eat. After a while, he put down his utensils and looked at Princess Rose, “If possible, I hope you can answer my questions now. I would really like to clarify so things about White Stone City.”
“Ask away, I’ll tell you,” Princess Rose sat at her seat, scooping a spoonful of fish soup to her mouth, her legs fidgeting, suddenly recollecting so past events with a tinge of annoyance, “Actually, you’re not requesting, you’re ordering, right? After all… you have that shaless technique; I couldn’t refuse even if I wanted to.”
Richard, as if not hearing the sarcasm in Princess Rose’s latter remarks, spoke impassively: “The first question I wish to ask is how did you survive? I saw with my own eyes White Stone City being struck by a teor that fell from the sky. The impact’s epicenter was right in the heart of White Stone City—at the White Stone Tower buildings.
White Stone Tower Academy was located within it, and there was no chance it could have escaped unscathed. How could you possibly be alive and have returned to your Kingdom? Did you sense danger and leave beforehand? Or was it for so other reason?”
“Well, about that,” Princess Rose shook her leg, “it’s a long story.”
“But, the reason isn’t as fantastical as you might think,” Princess Rose continued. “Did you know, a few days before the teor fell, White Stone Tower Academy had already suspended classes. It was said that the number of Wizards at White Stone Tower was limited, and the academy had to use its teaching staff to supplent. They inford us that the academy was too dangerous, so we were moved to the new academy location.”
“And you know about White Stone Tower Academy’s new location, right?” Princess Rose asked Richard, “After all, quite a few teachers must have ntioned it.”
Richard listened and shook his head candidly: “I really haven’t heard about that, as I hardly ever attended classes.”
“Er, well then,” Princess Rose said, “Let give you a brief explanation: the academy had always wanted to expand its student intake, but there was no more space available in the heart of White Stone City. So, they built a new academy close to the edges of White Stone City, planning to eventually split the academy into two parts. The new location was to exclusively recruit new students, whereas the old one would continue to nurture the experienced students who stayed.
Before the teorite struck, most of the students had already been moved to the unfinished new location, and so when the teorite hit, I and the other students had enough ti to escape and survived. Of course, there were a few unlucky ones who were directly hit by the teorite fragnts, and they were beyond saving.”
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