Chapter 695: Chapter 402: The Surprise of the Gemstone Grand Duke (1/2)
The plains were expansive, the mountains continuous.
One settlement and village after another were scattered in their midst.
Some of these towns didn't even have high and majestic walls. The wooden walls built by many villages and the wooden spikes and traps laid outside seemed like they could only fend off fierce beasts or monsters of Apprentice Level.
Mu Yuan himself had never seen a town without walls.
Shiling City, Pan Shi City, each city's walls competed in height.
It is said that in the territory of Tianze City, there were ordinary small towns and villages that spread around the city just like the villages and towns of Lanxing's era, simply and ordinarily.
People didn't live within fortress-like territories; instead, towns and villages branched out, which at least meant that monster waves didn't affect these areas.
Even further, this Great Domain was likely controlled by some Great Nation-level Force, or, at the very least, had a Great Nation-level Force as its backing. Otherwise, even if far from the Red Mist Land, the 'Low-Danger Domain' couldn't avoid numerous conflicts.
Mu Yuan pondered.
The priority was to figure out the name of this Great Domain and which power it belonged to.
Dead Bone pondered.
Being near a Great Nation-level Force meant having formidable power, which meant their own safety factor was decreasing, which also meant they were already in danger.
No, they had to make some preparations first.
Duo Lai was deep in thought.
Traveling to the outer lands, could they perhaps encounter some uniquely flavored delicacies?
"Organize an exploratory team that appears official to visit the local Lord."
After pondering for a while, Mu Yuan spoke.
They themselves would naturally continue to hide in the shadows and watch and observe.
He wasn't as worried as Dead Bone.
Surviving in the Eternal World didn't just require personal strength, but also background and connections, at least in the civilized world.
The bigger the force, the more they adhered to the rules on the surface.
He wasn't just a wild small-time Lord without backing; he was the Lord of Tai Xuan.
By revealing his identity, he was unlikely to face direct attacks. As for dangers that lurk in the shadows? When had there been no danger? Wasn't exploration always accompanied by danger?
Having a backing was enough to dissipate the majority of potential avarice.
This was sufficient.
Mu Yuan's group slowly made their way deeper into the Shen Luo Domain and found a secluded valley to set up camp.
They would rest and wait here for the time being.
The official team continued to move through densely populated areas.
Meanwhile, intelligence gathering in secrecy was ongoing.
The towns and villages weren't as numerous as imagined, but were clustered in areas with vast uninhabited lands in between.
Even so, even these desolate lands rarely saw monsters.
Large ferocious beasts were even rarer.
Many areas bore the footprints of humans.
Two days later.
This temporary camp had been fortified with forty-nine traps and defenses by General Dead Bone.
"This way, if we encounter danger, we'll have a bit of capacity to fight back."
Dead Bone nodded slightly.
Mu Yuan fell silent for a moment.
With General Dead Bone here, he truly felt very secure.
At that moment, Sophia approached, "Lord, we have now clarified the basic situation of this Great Domain and current territory."
The reason it took so long was because she only resorted to mild methods.
That was what the Lord had ordered.
Otherwise, she could have been much faster, much faster indeed.
Mu Yuan took the intelligence report Sophia handed over and glanced at it.
"Shen Luo Domain, if I remember correctly, Shen Luo Domain is the territory of the local powerful force 'Star Luo Holy Palace,' right?"
"Yes, more precisely, it is the territory of a vassal force under Star Luo Holy Palace," Sophia said. "This Great Nation-level powerhouse alliance force comprises numerous kingdoms, duchies and scattered territories revolving around the 'Holy Palace' as their core institution. They worship ancient gods.
It is said that the power of Star Luo Holy Palace is second only to the Holy Griffon Empire, and their influence isn't much less compared to the Griffon Empire, either."
Mu Yuan nodded slightly.
He had also seen the documents about Star Luo Holy Palace—this stack of documents was what he had given to Sophia.
The core of Star Luo Holy Palace was located in the 'Starfall Realm', a mysterious Great Domain.
Only a very limited number of outsiders, elite figures, have the qualifications to be invited to the Starfall Realm.
As for other Great Domains, Star Luo Holy Palace would only establish one or a few sub-palaces there and would barely interfere with the management and operation of various countries and territories.
The good news was: Star Luo Holy Palace had quite a good reputation.
As long as one didn't breach their taboos, the people of Star Luo Holy Palace were usually not difficult to deal with.
Reputation is not always entirely reliable, but it has some credibility.
Just like how the Yongxing Empire was viewed as aggressive and domineering by outsiders, based on the behavior of many Lords of Yongxing abroad.
Sophia continued:
"The first place we passed through was a small frontier town called West Border Town. Although it is on the frontier, as westward there's nothing but the Whirlpool Sea, West Border Town is not really a border town but just a typical small town. "
"As I found out, the border town of Shen Luo Domain should be somewhere very far north from here. There lies the real wilderness."
"If we head northeast from here, there's a small city called Redstone City. Its Lord is the immediate superior to the Lord of West Border Town."
"At the same time, Redstone City is a vassal territory to the overriding local power, the Gemstone Duchy. There are several other vassal territories like Redstone City."