Chapter 435: Chapter 204: Homecoming, Unease, and Birds

At most, only about a thousand Earth-digging Realm cultivators. For Great Xia, my father and Wang Lie, with their over a hundred Earth-digging Realm members, also constitute a considerable force.

They definitely wouldn’t act recklessly.

“Why has the caravan stopped ahead?”

Unknowingly, hours had passed in conversation between father and son. Noticing the caravan had halted, Xiang Ping immediately stretched his neck to look ahead.

Unfortunately, they were in the middle of the caravan and could not see the front.

“I’ll go take a look.”

Those marked with coal on their heads weren’t allowed to move freely, but Xiang Liang wasn’t among them. He spoke and headed towards the front.

Xiang Liang moved through the crowd, past three fully loaded wagons, and when he looked up ahead, his face immediately froze.

Leading the entire caravan was Lin Kai’s Qingjiao Team, along with three other low-level teams. At this moment, all four teams had stopped, because Lin Kai was talking with a mysterious stranger.

An ordinary conversation certainly wasn’t enough to shock Xiang Liang.

The key was that Lin Kai’s demeanor while speaking to that person was extremely humble!

Humble?

According to Xiang Liang’s observations in Wuyuan over the past two days, Lin Kai and Lu Yang should have similar status to that of the Defense officer, and they usually conversed quite naturally without a clear superior-subordinate relationship.

Could it be the Minister?

Xiang Liang looked carefully for a while, confirmed he hadn’t seen wrong, and a speculation arose in his mind, eyes lighting up, quickly moving closer again.

Their conversation wasn’t deliberately hushed, so getting closer allowed him to hear everything.

……

“More than five thousand people, my goodness, Wuyuan’s done a huge service this time!”

“Hahaha, thanks for the auspicious words, Sir! The Defense is in the middle supervising others to hurry along, it might take a bit more time. Should I notify him?”

“No need, no need. Tonight, the whole camp is brightly lit, the city gates wide open, waiting for your group from Wuyuan to return. It’s just a few hours to midnight, soon to close the city gates and begin the new year ceremony. The city gate is only five kilometers from here, quickly bring your men in, I’ll have the Tiger Leopard Team escort you for a while.”

“Thank you, Deputy Director. Brothers, let’s continue on our way!”

……

With Lin Kai’s last command, the caravan moved forward again.

Amidst the crowd, Xiang Liang was stunned.

Deputy Director?

This person isn’t even that Minister.

Deputy, meaning there’s a Director above.

Defense, Deputy Director, Director, Minister, leader……

Could it be that, in Great Xia, Lin Kai isn’t even considered high-level?

Gulp…..

Xiang Liang swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

The next second, his pupils dilated immediately.

Not just him, but many people beside him, too, widened their eyes, looking ahead, their expressions as if they had seen something uncanny.

Clang clang clang……

At the front of the caravan, suddenly appeared a team of fifty figures, clad in pale gold armor, swiftly dividing into two groups skirting to the caravan’s left and right sides, beginning to escort them forward.

Others might have felt merely a visual impact.

But not Xiang Liang!

The Black Arrow, Qingjiao, and East Sun Teams, too, were configured with fifty members.

Yet each team had only about a dozen clad in gold armor.

While this team before him had all fifty in gold armor.

“I’ll have the Tiger Leopard Team escort you…”

Recalling the last words the person said, Xiang Liang’s gaze sharpened.

This Tiger Leopard Team’s strength absolutely surpassed that of the Black Arrow and the other three teams.

Gulp…..

Just how many strong individuals does this Great Xia have?

“Hurry up, we’re almost there, speed it up.”

Another round of urging came, and Xiang Liang, with no time to ponder, was swept along by the crowd, rapidly heading north.

Over an hour passed just like that, and the caravan finally saw the end of the mountain walls.

Or rather, it should be said, a gap in the mountain wall.

The Great Xia Valley, they had finally arrived!

“We’re home!”

“Hahaha, home at last.”

“Finally home.”

……

The Great Xia people all broke into happy, excited smiles upon seeing the valley, with some even unable to restrain themselves from shouting out loud.

The sound spread from the front to the back, and everyone heard it.

Among the five to six thousand people from the camps like Feihu, though they didn’t understand why Great Xia’s people were so excitedly happy, when they looked up and saw the valley, their mood relaxed as well.

“Finally, we don’t have to walk anymore.”

“We’re here, is that the valley entrance?”

“Doesn’t look like a valley entrance, all square and neat.”

“Is it… a city gate?”

“What a joke, where could there be such a large city gate?”

“It really is, look, a city gate, such a massive city gate…”

Hiss…….

The crowd was filled with voices of doubt and disbelief.

However, as the horizon widened and the valley entrance became clear.

Everyone couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air.

At the Great Xia Valley entrance, two gigantic double-opening iron gates, twenty-seven meters high and twelve meters wide, stood wide open facing them.

The doors opened outward, allowing them to see clearly at a glance.

The iron gates even boasted a thickness of over a meter.

Gulp…..

“Is this a gate?”

“Pure iron?”

“Just how much iron ore was used to forge this?”

“Millions, no, it must be tens of millions, right?”

“Once these iron doors close, nothing could break in, right?”

……

Thousands had startled expressions, Xiang Liang among them.

Being the leader’s son, he knew more about iron ore than others.

An iron ore the size of a fist weighed forty or fifty pounds, but with doors this massive, not even considering the forging method, just the sheer size would weigh over ten million pounds.