“Can you even play? Three against one and you still managed to get two killed in a counter-kill. Are you guys capable or not!”
Yang Zhiwen couldn't help but pose this existential question to his teammates after another failed game.
After all, ever since the Space Gate appeared, Yang Zhiwen had escaped his former life. He spent the majority of the year in the Otherworld and didn't have much time to play games.
The little time he did spend on Blue Star was consumed by purchasing supplies and reviewing documents. Today, he finally had some free time and wanted to relax with a few games, but unexpectedly, he ran into four absolute buffoons while being a mere Bronze player.
Yang Zhiwen would absolutely never admit that it was because he hadn't played in so long. He was a Transcendent now; how could his reaction speed and hand speed be slow?
With his mentality shattered by four consecutive losses, Yang Zhiwen set an alarm and decided to get some sleep.
Yang Zhiwen was woken up by the alarm at two-thirty in the morning.
He rubbed his still somewhat sore eyes and first washed his face.
Afterward, Yang Zhiwen went to the Basement, locked the door, changed his clothes, and placed all the Steel Pipes onto a small cart.
Immediately after, he opened the Space Gate.
He pushed all the Steel Pipes from the cart through the Space Gate, then turned back to grab a backpack containing several hundred Stockings and over a dozen bottles of perfume.
Returning to the Otherworld, Yang Zhiwen first unloaded all the Steel Pipes from the cart, then pushed the cart back through to the other side of the Space Gate.
Next, he organized the Stockings and perfume he had brought.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
“Lord, the banquet is about to begin!”
Just as Yang Zhiwen finished organizing the Stockings and Steel Pipes, Xiao Bai’s voice came from outside the door.
“Alright, I’m coming right away!”
……
“Congratulations, Lord, on becoming a Transcendent…”
As soon as Yang Zhiwen arrived at the banquet venue, he saw over twenty people salute him in unison.
These twenty-plus people were the Village Chiefs from every village within Yang Zhiwen’s Fief.
Yang Zhiwen’s Fief had over five thousand people. Although he had invited everyone in the Territory to the banquet, only the Village Chiefs from each village could come to see him; the other Domain Residents naturally could not.
“Everyone, no need to be so formal. I am in a good mood today, so eat and drink well.”
“Thank you, Lord…”
Even though over 5,000 people attended the dinner, it hadn't actually cost Yang Zhiwen much in wealth.
Yang Zhiwen had accumulated quite a fortune in the Otherworld through buying low and selling high.
One pair of Stockings sold for one Silver Coin, and one Silver Coin was normally enough to buy two hundred catties of Grain in Desco County.
As for entertaining over 5,000 people, the vast majority naturally couldn't have any delicacies like fish or meat; most Domain Residents could only eat thick porridge made from Staple Grain.
But even this kind of thick porridge was a rare delicacy for them, as it was much better than what they usually ate themselves.
“Uncle Jike, after the banquet ends, come to my room. I’ll give you the items to be sold next, please take them to Nord City to sell tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“Lord, there is a messenger outside. He says he was sent by Lord Carnes, the City Lord of Nord City.”
“A messenger from the City Lord? I will go receive him now.”
Halfway through the banquet, Yang Zhiwen suddenly received news that a messenger had arrived from Nord City.
The Territory where Yang Zhiwen was located was managed by Nord City, so he naturally would not treat a messenger sent by Nord City lightly.
Soon, Yang Zhiwen arrived at the reception hall and met the messenger from Nord City.
The moment he saw the messenger sent by Nord City, Yang Zhiwen had a bad feeling, because this messenger was fully armed.
He was not only carrying a shield and longsword but was also clad in Armor.
This immediately gave Yang Zhiwen a bad feeling. Normally, messengers sent by Nord City would not be dressed like this, and a messenger being replaced by fully armed soldiers basically confirmed that something major had happened in Nord City.
“Lord Yang Zhiwen of the Ma Ti Fief, I am here under the orders of Lord Carnes to deliver urgent military intelligence.”
“Two days ago, an Abyss Rift appeared in Yartas County, and a large number of the Demon Race poured out of the rift. More than half of Yartas County has already fallen.”
“What? The Demon Race appeared in Yartas County?”
Hearing the messenger’s words, Yang Zhiwen couldn't help but be greatly shocked.
On this Continent, there were a total of six nations, and the nation Yang Zhiwen belonged to was located in the central region of the Continent, named the Jialan Empire.
Because the entire Empire was situated in the central region of the Continent, its climate conditions were relatively superior, resulting in a large population.
It was the largest in territorial size among the six nations on the entire Continent and was nominally ranked first in overall strength.
However, the Jialan Empire employed a feudal system where numerous Nobles and Lords divided vast amounts of land, leading to low centralization of power. While this was very advantageous in small-scale wars, its performance was rather lackluster when it came to mobilizing the entire nation's military strength.
To the west of the Jialan Empire was the Taslan Theocracy, the second largest in territorial size, whose comprehensive national strength was second only to the Jialan Empire.
This nation was a unified state of church and government. Although its population and territory were slightly smaller than the Jialan Empire's, due to its higher degree of centralization, its overall strength was only slightly less than the Jialan Empire's, and in fact, the national power of the Taslan Theocracy was stronger than the Jialan Empire's most of the time.
To the southwest of the Jialan Empire was the Acrylic Kingdom, which was the weakest nation in terms of national strength.
This kingdom was a vassal state of the Jialan Empire.
To the southeast was the Island Alliance.
Strictly speaking, the Island Alliance was not a single nation but an alliance composed of numerous island nations.
The Island Alliance had the lowest degree of centralization among all the nations, but relying on its uniquely advantageous geographical environment and powerful naval fleet, the Island Alliance managed to remain isolated from the other major powers on the Continent.
Finally, there were the Mengla Kingdom and the Kafa Kingdom, located in the Northern Continent.
The entirety of both nations was situated in the northern part of the Continent, with most of their territory covered in ice and snow. They had few resources, resulting in a sparse population and weak national strength.
However, these two nations maintained an alliance, intermarrying for many years, and their relationship was close. If they encountered an external threat, the two nations would essentially stand together as one.
Therefore, even though both nations were weaker individually when facing other countries, they were still a formidable opponent when united. Furthermore, due to their harsh natural environment, the people were fiercely martial, so their citizens highly valued military prowess.
The combat effectiveness of their armies was also very strong.
More importantly, because of their harsh environment, neither nation was highly favored by other countries.
After all, attacking the Mengla and Kafa Kingdoms often resulted in an unfavorable ratio of cost to reward—a losing proposition.
Therefore, neither the Jialan Empire nor the Taslan Theocracy had much desire to invade them.
Between the Jialan Empire and the Mengla Kingdom, there was a buffer zone primarily populated by refugees from defunct nations in the western region of the Continent.
To the west of the Continent lay the Xize Wasteland, occupied by the Demon Race.
Several centuries ago, there were still a number of nations west of the Jialan Empire, but two hundred years ago, the Demon Race suddenly appeared on the Continent through the Abyss Rifts.
Subsequently, a large number of the Demon Race rapidly swept through the western region of the Continent, swiftly destroying several nations west of the Jialan Empire.
If the other nations on the Continent had not reacted quickly and halted the Demon Race's advance before they crossed the Divine Creation Mountain Range, a large portion of the Jialan Empire would likely have fallen.
For the subsequent hundreds of years, the Jialan Empire, the Mengla Kingdom, and the Acrylic Kingdom became the primary Frontline against the Demon Race.