CHAPTER 1152: CHAPTER 850: IS THIS... A WAR?

This small nation is considered quite powerful on the entire continent. If you exclude the four major countries, its national power could definitely rank in the top ten, and it wouldn’t be impossible for it to rank in the top five.

The most famous aspect of this country is its origin from a group of thieves.

It’s said that a powerful tribe of thieves existed in the continent’s north, where nearly everyone had once stolen someone else’s property, even relying on theft to sustain the tribe’s livelihood. Over time, they absorbed many refugees and vagrants, grew wealthy by robbing merchant convoys, and eventually spontaneously formed a small country.

After approximately two hundred years of development, this small nation originating from a thieves’ tribe has become increasingly robust, but it’s said they still can’t shake off their bandit ways. They often impose exorbitant tolls on passing merchant convoys, nobles, and foreigners for various reasons, and they regularly form armies to rob villages and towns along neighboring borders, plundering and committing theft. Though not outright ruthless, their conduct is highly problematic and despised by various countries on the continent.

Some call it a bandit country, while others refer to it as a barbarian nation. If it weren’t for its formidable strength and its avoidance of offending major nations, targeting only those weaker small countries and tribes for theft, such that the small countries have no way to deal with it and the major nations have no reason to handle it, it might have already been destroyed.

Reiger investigated the situation here when deciding to come to the Tistis Kingdom, and found out that even the Northern Great Country is beginning to suffer from it now.

"Since the internal conflict started in the Tistis Kingdom, the national situation has become increasingly grave, and neighboring small countries are starting to consider this country, even forming alliances to deal with the Tistis Kingdom."

"And the Luke Kingdom is the vanguard of this small country alliance, suspected of receiving support from other nations and continuously harassing the southern border of the Tistis Kingdom."

"As Mite serves as a border city of the Tistis Kingdom, it has already engaged in numerous small-scale skirmishes with the Luke Kingdom’s army."

Aive rubbed her nose, seemingly worried about catching a cold, and said casually.

"Are we going there?"

It was apparent that Aive was eager to go.

No matter what kind of city Mite is, at least it’s a place for people to stay, unlike outside where it’s all ice and snow, making it uninhabitable.

"Going there first sounds good." Reiger glanced at Aive and said, "The Ginas Kingdom is too far from the Tistis Kingdom, limiting the intelligence we can gather. The situation here is so complex, finding a local to inquire about the news would help us decide the next step."

Reiger could let the multi-winged beast continue deeper into the Tistis Kingdom’s territory, all the way to the capital, Ulvashi.

He was quite interested in the queen of this country.

Every generation of the queens of the Tistis Kingdom is a descendant of the founding first queen.

And that founding queen is suspected to have a connection with the Tistis family.

The Tistis family also has a significant connection with the former royal Reinnaier family.

Since they have already arrived at the Tistis Kingdom, Reiger naturally wants to meet the current queen and see if this suspected descendant of the Tistis family knows any ancient magical civilization secrets.

Moreover...

"You mentioned the teleportation array leading to the Hidden Land is located in the mountains at the continent’s northernmost end, right?"

Reiger confirmed once with Aive and Leo.

"Uh... what’s the name of the mountain range?"

Leo seemed puzzled, scratching his head and deep in thought.

"Casa Fegre Mountain Range." Aive looked at Leo with a speechless expression, then sighed and said, "The High Priest mentioned that it’s not only the continent’s northernmost mountain range, but it’s also perpetually covered in blizzards, with almost no one able to pass through the colossal blizzards to reach the mountain. So its exact location and route are likely not well-known, even among the people of this country."

In other words, finding that mountain would likely require a long period of intelligence gathering in the Tistis Kingdom.

What geographical intelligence could this country’s royalty not know?

If even the royal family of the Tistis Kingdom doesn’t know the location of the Casa Fegre Mountain Range, then it’s likely nobody knows where it is.

Besides, in this blizzard-filled country, with blizzards visible everywhere, even the multi-winged beast might find it difficult to fly toward the capital Ulvashi.

Considering all factors, Reiger thinks it’s more practical to first understand this country and find a way to get to Ulvashi himself.

"Let’s settle on that." Leo, seeing how things had become complicated, immediately shouted, "Let’s go to that Mite. I don’t want to stay here any longer."

"The direction of Mite is this way!" Liz finally found the map, determined the location, and pointed in one direction, saying, "It’s about a kilometer away."

"One kilometer?" Aive breathed a sigh of relief and murmured, "Thankfully, it’s not too far."

During such a long trek, the magician suffered the most.

There’s no choice, as this isn’t a place for carriages. To travel in such ice and snow, you either walk or you use the country’s unique transportation tools.

And to obtain transportation tools, you’d have to go to the city first.

"Let’s go." Reiger decisively said, "Let’s hit the road first."

To facilitate everyone’s journey, Reiger also activated magic, casting [Acceleration] and [Weight Reduction] spells on everyone, allowing them to walk on the snow with ease without leaving deep footprints with every step.

This was especially necessary for Aive; had Reiger not done all this, she might have wanted to bow her head in thanks.

With that, the group started heading toward Mite in the snow.

Even Yuloli didn’t want to stay in such weather anymore. She was now walking seriously, no longer in a sleepy state. If Reiger hadn’t stopped her, she might have used her full speed to fly toward a lively place.

As for Lilith, she managed a [High-Order Teleport] spell, transporting everyone near Mite.

This reminded Reiger that, even without exact coordinates, once the direction is confirmed, using [High-Order Teleport] for travel seems to be a good choice.

However, one [High-Order Teleport] is sufficient.

As a seventh-order high-level teleportation magic, this magic isn’t incapable of covering a mere kilometer.

If not for the uncertainty in coordinates, Reiger’s [High-Order Teleport] could have directly sent everyone into Mite.

Thus, after a [High-Order Teleport], the group easily arrived at the Tistis Kingdom’s border city.

But when they arrived at Mite, an unexpected scene unfolded before them.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

In the midst of massive explosions, fireballs soared through the snowstorm, crossing icy ground, and bombarded the city’s walls, leaving them riddled with holes and on the verge of collapse.

The fireballs came from a group of magicians clad in thick snow battle attire.

They raised their wands and chanted in unison, releasing fireballs to attack the city’s walls.

Ahead of them, a group of soldiers wielding weapons were also besieging the city.

"Shoo shoo shoo shoo shoo——"

On the walls, a rain of arrows was shot out, covering the soldiers besieging the city, intending to knock them down, but most were blocked by the defense magic enveloping the soldiers, allowing those soldiers to attack more arrogantly, with many already reaching the walls and battling the guards.

"This..."

Reiger and his group exchanged glances.

Good heavens.

Had they stumbled upon a war?