Chapter 136 (1/2)

Chapter 136: Return and Reunion

“Fresh fruits and vegetables for sale at a cheap price!”

“Hey, you over there, the one who looks strong Our engineering tea and favorable treatment Are you interested?”

“Here! Bread fresh out of the oven! Buy one get one free! Knights get a fifty percent discount! Do you want one? Alright, it will be two bronze coins”

“Toh that you all have returned! This time, do you all intend to stay per about East Mist City, I looked around at the busy crowds, the traffic flowing to and fro, and all kinds of construction grounds Somehow, a smile crept onto my mouth, one that came from the depths of le day Even with great funds pumped in without concerns for the potential returns, the rebuilding works of the city were still stuck at the phase of clearing up and renovating the older district The resources we had obtained also only ihtly, and the difference in the overall standard of living wasn’t apparent What radually becoly spirited and expectant

The journey north towards the East Mist Co, and radually worsened

When huedies, they would often carry bitterness on their faces Evennumbness and confusion I understood that when someone had no expectation for the future, when he believed that the future would only becooes by, no matter how mentally resilient the person is, his coroorse and worse When there was no hope for his future, he would naturally treat others colder and colder

The reason? It was probably because this nation plagued with calamities would eventually just meet with another catastrophe

That year, when the Mist Country crumbled, they did not fall When they lost their horate Two hundred years ago, the East Mist was annexed by the aged by its neighbors Even so, they persisted on Twenty years ago, after losing the final mine they were reliant on for their survival, they continued to fight on A year ago, when the old eave their lives to follow behind a fourteen-year-old princess to charge against their ene a miraculous victory in the war

They weren’t superhumans ills ing for their homeland Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, this barren land of the north was a useless plot of land in the wilderness But for those whose ancestors had lived here, there was toofor this plot of land

Outsiders were unable to understand the sentimentality Northerners held for their holaciers of the Northern Lands Just because their core was here, their souls adauard the homeland their ancestors had created for the as that flag doesn’t fall, ill clench our jaws and endure”

However, not long ago, they finally found theer In the span of a year between the death of the old e with provisions for survival in hand, a significant amount of the population chose to leave their homeland out of frustration

I knew that they couldn’t be blamed for it, and neither did they break their vow

The citizens of the Mist did not fear sacrifice and war; they only feared the unknown future

When the shadows of war fade away, the tattered farht of hopelessness Facing the onset of winter, under the menace of the wolf packs, they did not have the provisions required for thehbors they knew died of starvation and froze in the streets, when the life-saving rations allocated during winter was insufficient, even the most optimistic of people had to consider their future

“I don’t ic life, but my child isn’t at fault He doesn’t deserve this”

No one could stand idly and watch as their children starved to death before them No one could chastise the Mist citizens who left Even if they knew that this would be a one-way trip, and that they would likely die in the erous journey, they could only leave their homeland reluctantly

However, as even more ironic and cruel about their departure was that it allowedmore people Compared to the previous few years, the amount of people who died in last year’s winter was the least

No one could be blamed for this cruel reality If someone had to to take the blame, then one could only blame the Mist royalty who had failed in their duties for protect their people If one had to go even further, it could probably be traced back to eneration which created many potential ene that Auland was up to no good, as the descendant of the Mist, Reyne, who had yet conduct an official coronation cereritted her teeth and journeyed there After all, death awaited the there was a ray of hope, she had to go through with it

Should I say that when one door closed, another opened… If I was even a year late in regainingto the Surface, the East Mist Coht have already disappeared by then If not for the irksoht not have evenHoed At the very least, in place of their confused gazes was expectation for a brighter future

“Have you seen it? Barracks have been constructed in the old districts by the west of the city That is the army of Prince Roland”

“Back then, I was the first one to rush to the conscription point It is a pity that I was just a bit off fro Who doesn’t know that even though they were recruiting significant ah? The very first test was already a physical one Seeing how you are as skinny as a ot eli that you are just a bit off?”

“To know it so clearly, can it be that you…”

“At the very least, I survived until the third round! I, Aiken, do not intend to give up As long as there are divisions that are recruiting, I will give it a try If I still fail even then, I’ht, there is the Church of Laell; they are also recruiting I heard that they i eliminated, the bulky man, Aiken, had a face full of pride and honor The surrounding croas also gasping in surprise, as though they were looking at an a expert

When a country is weak, the safety of its people are threatened The citizens of a weak country are looked down upon No one knew this logic better than the citizens of East Mist, which had been ravaged ti the Church of Law as its national religion and, fro a permanently neutral country, it was clear to see that East Mist was still in a dangerous situation The Beastmen of the north could launch an invasion southwards at anyEast Mist with greed Even if one didn’t assault the other countries, there was no guarantee that the other countries would do the sa preyed on the weak, one had to possess forth in order to become truly neutral

Thus, the establishle army division became a reason for the citizens to rejoice After all, this rowing stronger and stronger At the saer population an opportunity to develop theht; one after another, these legendary jobs popped out frole one of the youngsters and they craved to create history with their own hands, just like their ancestors did

In the past, citizens were also enthusiastic to join the arht now, they were building a future for the their country The motivation of the citizens between the two scenarios were incomparable with one another

Further the military was representative of their faith in the country This was also syht Prince Roland

However, this wasn’t the happiest andabout it, it had to be theback to their hoendary Prince Roland had returned with his vanished ar back to their hoood, the Mist citizens still chose to return Every single day, there were carriages and individuals returning back to their hoates, the roads were packed with all kinds of carriages and travelers aiting to enter the city The streets were packed with tired but happy returnees “Is everyone still doing well? I have finally returned here” “You’re back? That’s great, that’s great” Such conversations could be heard everywhere The returning travelers were extree that had occurred after their departure Many of the croere pointing to the division flags and corabbed faate the Those who had rated to the neighboring countries As the news traveled to the different corners of the world, those Mist citizens who had left within the past twenty to thirty years started to contemplate on whether they should return or not When the Mist War Flags rose up high once more, the disparate Mist citizens would start to reunite as one

Not too far away, a group of travelers had just arrived Soht feather hats Judging fro, it was clear that they had just returned fro, the returnees were discussing how they were getting along in a foreign land Eventually, it devolved into a co session

“…We were lucky to have notjourney to the other countries, but if not forced into a corner, ould be willing to leave their houage and living an entirely life from ere accustomed to is enjoyable? Those locals would always look at us as though ere savage barbarians, do you think that it was pleasant being treated as such? Upon opening our eyes every ners speaking a foreign language sometimessuicide”

That was a young s, depressed expression, as well as his callused hands and his rough skin edhinificantly older than his actual age

“We were discrin accents Even ere bullied, despite holding the ue with thenation that we felt then? The loneliness we felt during the festive periods of our ho fro for our ho e, who could understand them? Furthermore, if ere to express them, ould only be isolated even further”

Despite being his prime where he should have been filled with a man before As he spoke, he recalled those past events and the anger he felton the wooden table

“When we finally made new friends after much difficulty, in the ue results in ‘East Mist? Oh, I know, it’s that barbarian tribe that had been destroyed Could it be that you are that legendary barbarian princess?’ When those by the side are laughing, in order to fit in, despite feeling so furious that you could beat the hell out of the other party, you could only try your best to force a laughter and pretend as though it was nothing That life was too aggrieving, too torturous!”

That indignant lady spoke ih she had suffered rievances

After all the complaints, an abrupt silence suddenly settled over the atmosphere Everyone had suffered quite a fair bit After atheir s towards the city’s west, the direction where the military barracks were

“Let’s thank the princess who had been propping up the flag for so many years… At the very least, we have returned, and there is still a place beneath the flags for us to return to So, everyone, let’s be more cheerful from now on For our blissful future, cheers!”

Even though the heavy burden of life had crushed his waist, the young man’s heart had yet to die He still dreamt of a beautiful to us a reason to return… No matter what happens from now on, at the very least, ill be able to die in the land of our ancestors Perhaps all we needed was a reason to return here”

The matic His resolve to remain here even if it meant his death caused the atmosphere to turn heavy and dish they ords of appreciation, the drinking toasts were beco more and more sorrowful Soon, so as though we areonto an execution platfor Ceremony that day? Prince Roland’s arone through countless wars throughout the last three hundred years They are all the Heroic Spirits of our Mist Country! With thee through battlefields undefeated! Our country will only grow stronger and stronger and our life will only ioes by!”

The one who had interrupted abruptly was Aiken, as boasting a while ago about how he had bashed through several trials but regrettably failed in the end At this roup

“You all are overthinking it Hehe, you all uardians are That Bone Dragon the Dragon Knight was riding on was so er than the city walls Do you knoho he is? He is the final Dragon Knight of our Mist Country! The Knights under Prince Roland are that incredible, he hi about the scenes he had seen during the Holeefully than his own glory All kinds of rumors were ends ca out of his mouth In a moment’s ti, winged, Se

Fro travelers were curious about the things that happened on that day Even though it was clear that Aiken’s words were exaggerated and filled with nonsense, they were absorbed into his story

Under the ceaseless questions by the audience, Aiken became more and more impassioned in his story When he went overboard with his story, some of the onlookers would interrupt and correct him With a word here and there, the atmosphere in the tavern heated up

“Say, this is a hard-to-co their own divisions and they are intending to personally train the soldiers You can’t i present for the tests Even so, they were eliminated just like everyone else I, Aiken, was always just a little bit off every single tiht becoht under Prince Roland’s direct command! That wouldn’t just be enerations of my descendants to coht even leap up frorave in sheer joy!”

“Shoo shoo, you were unsuccessful for soabout it! I don’t think there’s any hope for you any as Town Security”

“Hht one day! After this toast, I will go to the newly established Silver Cross Division to take the test Are any of you willing to follow o then!”

Alright, the rew and thetheir hands about furiously, they dashed out to register for the test

“…The Silver Cross Division requires one to be capable of learning how to utilize the Power of Eleence doesn’t even reach 9, it is impossible for him to pass the test”