After resting for a night, on July 12th, Lear assembled the army in the morning and organized supplies.
After settling the bill with the Rose House, he mounted the finest black horse in the convoy and had the Mud Swamp People catch up with the 30 wagons, heading slowly towards the outskirts of the city.
Two hundred neatly lined Wetland Lizard-men followed as guards on either side.
Assemble the army, enter the Wilderness!
He had been looking forward to today for a long time.
At this moment, his spirits were quite high.
In the early morning, there were not many pedestrians on the streets, and the wide streets were quite empty.
The thick blue stone ground had a width exceeding one hundred and fifty meters, with eight carriageways on each side and enough pedestrian paths.
And there were twenty such main roads, intersecting to separate the entirety of Lorand City.
Just transporting these blue stones into the city was an immense and exaggerated project.
Obelisk-topped buildings stood on either side of the street, these houses ancient and exquisite, varying in height, interlocking like jagged teeth.
Colored stained glass reflected brilliant light, and the walls were adorned with exquisite heroic relief sculptures, recounting the past and glory of this city.
At the crossroads, a clock tower over twenty meters high stood.
A gigantic, dwarf-forged, angular cross-shaped brass clock moved with a tick, tick, tick.
Every time the clock struck three, six, nine, and twelve, the city was enveloped by the great sound of the bell.
No matter which corner you were in, you could hear the sound of time.
It took the Lorand Clan a thousand years to build this magnificent city.
It's also the strongest heavy shield in the Northern Province of the Griffin Empire, defending against the erosion of the wasteland.
A bright, dazzling pearl.
Crossing the bustling streets, the convoy slowly passed through the tall and magnificent city gates of Lorand City.
Lear looked back, the towering city walls seemed like immovable mountains.
Over a hundred meters tall!
The exterior was covered in marks of war, like an old soldier with remarkable battle achievements.
On the city walls, a plethora of heavy siege weapons stood firm.
Catapults, heavy crossbows, arrow towers... too numerous to count.
At the gate, two giant warrior statues standing 120 meters tall held heavy swords like a miraculous sight, with sword blades crossing in mid-air.
Like declaring to the outside world the insurmountability of Lorand City.
These two statues have been rebuilt no less than ten times following wars, each time taller than before.
They are almost symbols of Lorand City.
A sharp eagle cry made Lear subconsciously look up.
In the sky, over a hundred griffins, the emblem of the Empire, with wings spanning several meters, soared.
These fierce beings formed an aerial defense line, ready to multiply their numbers tenfold or a hundredfold if needed.
Gazing deeply at this magnificent city, Lear felt a surge of grandeur.
In the future...his territory should be like this too!
No longer reluctant, he waved his hand, urging the army to speed up.
Outside the city, vast farmland stretched out endlessly.
Green wheat fields swayed gently under the breeze, offering endless beauty.
After advancing over ten more kilometers, Lorand City gradually disappeared from sight.
In the magical world possessing magic power, even the inherently timid Mud Swamp People artisans were far stronger than Earth humans.
The marching pace wasn't slow.
Starting at dawn, they stopped to rest only after encountering a roadside well at noon.
In several hours, they had already advanced 30 kilometers, but none of them showed much fatigue on their faces.
Having eaten dinner made from Noah's Rice last night, they wouldn't need to start a fire to cook meals for the next few days.
It indeed saved a lot of trouble.
Within a hundred kilometers around Lorand City belonged to the security zone.
The Guard Legion patrolled daily, promptly eliminating any threats discovered.
And the spacious roads built by Lorand City, paved with bluestone, made it easy for people to travel quickly.
With a splash of clear water on the face, fatigue dissipated.
They continued their journey.
As the sun set, they advanced another 40 kilometers before setting up camp.
Covering 70 kilometers in one day, this speed was already considered quite fast.
This gave Lear a new understanding of the strength of ordinary people in this fantasy world.
Nighttime was highly dangerous and unsuitable for traveling.
After reaching a small town, the convoy set up camp.
The next day continued...until noon, they finally left the straight and wide bluestone road.
The road turned immediately into a bumpy mud road, and their pace slowed down.
The area extending 100 to 200 kilometers from Lorand City into the wilderness was a control zone.
Every few days, the Griffin Legion comes to patrol. If monsters gather in significant numbers, they are eradicated on the spot to prevent them from forming a larger scale.
However, a few Wilderness beasts still remain.
Currently, Pioneer Lords are forbidden from choosing this area.
Because it is completely within Lorand City's control zone, every year, officials are dispatched to establish villages and cultivate land.
Penetrating 200 to 300 kilometers further into the Wilderness leads into the vigilance area.
Every half month, Lorand City sends patrols. If a large-scale gathering of Wilderness life occurs, the army is immediately mobilized to prevent breaches into the control zone.
This range is also the most chosen area by Pioneer Lords.
Several sizable pioneering lands are established here.
Able to receive radiation from Lorand City and yet not face direct threats from the Wilderness, it has the highest safety factor.
300 to 500 kilometers is the monitoring zone.
Lorand City monitors this area to a certain extent; even if a large-scale monster gathering is discovered, no rash action is taken unless they intrude into the vigilance area.
This is why the danger level starts to escalate sharply.
Beyond 500 kilometers lies the true Wilderness... undeveloped, and Lorand City will only occasionally send the Griffin Legion to patrol and prevent large-scale army gatherings over the Wilderness.
But when the Griffin Legion enters, losses often occur.
Beastman, Barbarian Race, Snake-man, Gray Dwarves, Undead... nearly every race lurks in the depths of the Wilderness.
Their spheres of influence vary in size.
It is said that a powerful Ogre Empire exists tens of thousands of miles beyond the Wilderness. Its strength is no less formidable than Lorand City.
Only the distance is so great, severed by the Wilderness, making verification impossible.
Upon entering the control zone 100 kilometers away, Lear ordered Bain to take out several pieces of dried Dragon Dung and place them into a clay basin.
Bain looked at the dry Dragon Dung, feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Master, if Earth Dragon Dung is stored too long, it loses its scent... its effectiveness greatly diminishes."
His face showed some regret. He had briefly asked Lear while inspecting the supplies, and Lear said it was ready, so Bain didn't check thoroughly.
Now it seemed he was careless. Without Earth Dragon Dung, the monsters encountered will likely increase exponentially.
The difficulty of this journey would soar!
Lear looked at the hunched Mud Swamp People Hero with a face full of wrinkles and laughed.
"No need to worry, this is not Earth Dragon Dung."
"Haggs, drip blood into it."
He waved his hand as he spoke.
The Wetland Lizard-man Hero stepped forward immediately.
He grabbed a robust, plump rooster weighing over ten pounds from a carriage.
With a twist, he snapped its neck.
The rooster's head broke off with a crack, its wings flapping madly as blood sprayed and soaked into the clay basin.
In no time, those dried pieces of Dragon Dung were thoroughly drenched.
In just a few breaths, the surrounding magic power seemed attracted by a black hole, flooding into the Dragon Dung crazily.
An indescribable aura of dominion seeped out from the Dung.
Everyone inexplicably felt a chill down their spine.
As though stared down by some terrifying Abyss creature.
"Dragon Dung?!"
Bain staggered back a few steps, his legs turned to jelly, as he cried out in shock.
His eyes changed once again.
The Lord can even acquire such a thing?!
Dragons are the ultimate apex predators in this Fantasy World. Pure-blooded dragons can reach the Extraordinary realm in their later years!
Anything tinged with dragons, even if bloodlines are mixed, has considerable strength.
And for survival, avoiding danger is the best strategy.
No one wants to approach Dragon's Might... it's synonymous with courting death.
Lear slightly nodded without more words.
Let the army march on!
Dragon's Might can emanate two to three kilometers away.
Some sensitive creatures can even sense it from over ten kilometers away.
The convoy's safety greatly increased.
On the 13th and 14th, after two more days on the road, they passed through the control zone and entered the vigilance area, where the danger level soared.
They were over 200 kilometers beyond Lorand City... Only then, had they truly entered the Wilderness.
Tonight, they set up camp, and after dinner, Lear did not rush to sleep but kept watch until late into the night.
Finally, the panel's time reached midnight... July 15th!
A new message silently surfaced in Lear's mind from the Intelligence System —
[The Intelligence System has cooled down completely, ready for information refresh. Refresh now?]
Lear's spirit lifted.
The third intelligence refresh time... has arrived!