Chapter 580: The Traveling Party
Chapter 580: The Traveling Party
The sky hung low like an iron curtain.
Decades had passed, and the Desolate Land was shrouded in a perpetual gloom of decay.
The sunlight was either scorching or weak, as if it came from another world.
On the riverbank, several withered trees stood like skeletal fingers, their branches twisted like ghostly hands reaching towards the sky, futilely awaiting the arrival of life-giving rain.
The desolate wind blew through the bare, white wood, producing a hollow sound.
On the exposed, parched chest of the earth, a party of three walked.
Their members were quite special.
One was an elderly person with white hair, a rare long-lived individual in the Desolate Land.
The other two were unexpectedly young, closely guarding the elder like bodyguards.
As they walked, one of the young men couldn't help but feel thirsty. He glanced at the water bottle but restrained himself from quenching his thirst.
He tried to divert his attention by asking the elder, "Elder, do you need to come with us?"
"Why do you have to leave the camp when we can just go take a look at the Banyan Forest?"
The elder shook his head:
"My time is running out."
"And the news we heard this time is different from before. I must come and see it for myself before I go."
The young man looked puzzled:
"I don't understand."
The elder explained:
"This is not like the fleeting powers of the past."
"They seem to have a stable production structure, not just order, and it's not maintained by one or two treasures."
The young man still looked perplexed:
"I, I still don't quite get it."
The elder smiled:
"Never mind, child. If it's what I think it is, you'll understand when you see it with your own eyes and touch it with your own hands. It's a completely different world."
The party continued on their journey across the Desolate Land.
After a month of traveling, the desolate landscape remained unchanged, but as they passed through a canyon, they suddenly saw some compact figures in the distance.
These people's postures were not as frail as those of ordinary Desolate Land inhabitants, and they wore wind-resistant and sand-proof clothing.
Behind the group, there were several Wooden Wagons.
A long, stone road stretched out from under their feet, coming from the distant horizon, winding its way through the withered trees of the desert, and disappearing into the end of the world.
The three of them were stunned.
The Desolate Land had once had roads, but decades of desolation had left them ravaged by wind and erosion.
Now, on the old sites, new roads were being built.
The young man looked at the elder in confusion, unable to comprehend the scene before him:
"Elder, what are they doing? Building a road?"
The elder, however, fell into deep thought.
There was a hint of excitement in his eyes, and after a while, he spoke:
"A road."
"They're building a road."
Without explaining further to the young man, he quickened his pace, walking towards the road-building group:
"Let's go take a look!"
As they drew closer, the elder found the situation to be different from what he had imagined.
The workers were simply using shovels and pickaxes, tapping the ground casually. Without any intermediate process, the stones in the Wooden Wagons behind them would disappear and reappear on the ground.
Ordinary people would think that an Awakened artisan was at work.
But the elder, with his vast experience, saw that these people's actions were fundamentally different from those of the Awakened.
"This way of manipulating Essence..."
"Is the organizer distributing power to their subordinates and acting on their behalf?"
No, there are similar aspects, but the essence is quite different."
The young man beside the elder asked, "Elder, it seems like you hold this matter in high regard?"
The old man shook his head, "If we were to prioritize the construction projects, the roads would undoubtedly be at the top of the list."
"Aegnar, it seems we made the right decision to come here this time."
"..."
A few weeks later, the trio continued their journey eastward, treading on the pebble road.
The dry air seemed to have gained a barely noticeable trace of moisture, as if enticing people to head eastward.
However, what truly caught people's attention were the other travelers on the pebble road.
Unlike the refugees on the Wildlands who were wary of each other, these people carried an air of anticipation as they headed east. Among their group, one could often spot wooden carts pulled by men, carrying various goods.
During their midday break, the young man in the group tried to engage these travelers in conversation. After spending quite some time, he returned with new information:
"Elder, they are all heading towards the Banyan Forest."
"This force has grand ambitions. They are building roads that spread to all regions in the east, and they have already established connections with many organizations. Starting from their first mine, they quickly made a name for themselves through food trade and even became the dominant force in the region, all within a short period."
The elder, resting nearby, had a complex expression on his face, "Indeed, they have an abundance of food, and there's also a mysterious forest they can use for resources. Their ruler must be exceptionally powerful; otherwise, such wealth would not be easily protected by ordinary people."
The young man shook his head, "I don't know about the Green Marsh, but I've only heard that their lord is named Lin Sai."
"And it seems the Banyan Forest has trained a formidable army!"
"They use weapons that don't require Essence but are still quite powerful. Even second- and third-stage Awakened individuals, when outnumbered, are often easily suppressed by them."
The old man nodded, "It seems he has skilled craftsmen under his command."
"I've also heard that Aroen established a camp here. I never imagined that after his failure, fate would extend his reach in such a way."
"..."
Several more days passed.
This time, the trio encountered a group of insect-like creatures with hideous faces on the road.
They, too, were pulling a wooden cart, and one could vaguely see stones and soil inside.
The young man was immediately shocked by this sight and jumped in front of the elder to protect him.
But before he could make a move, the elder patted his shoulder, "Aegnar, relax, it's fine."
The young man spoke with a tense tone, "But... what is that?"
"They are an alien race, or perhaps sub-humans," the elder explained, "In many worlds, humans are the dominant species, but there are also intelligent sub-species that have evolved."
"You may find their appearance frightening, but it's best to set aside your prejudices."
"They are sentient beings capable of communication."
As they spoke, a gust of wind suddenly blew by.
On the Wildlands, the strong wind was like a knife's edge, a common occurrence people were used to.
But this time, the eastern wind carried with it a refreshing scent of trees and the moisture of water, tempting people to take a deep breath.
The unprecedented experience even left the young man feeling a bit flustered.
The elder sighed, "Child, we have arrived."
The group looked eastward.
The magnificent Banyan Forest, so vast it seemed to block out the sky, appeared in the distance.
(End of Chapter)
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