Chapter : 40 : Bi Yuan Empire :
Location : Sky Star Continent : Southern Region :
The southern region of the sky star continent is a land of ice and snow .
Unlike the warm climate of the eastern regions which allows for farmland and crops to grow , the southern region is full of mountainous terrains with snow almost falling all around the year .
Here the kingdom are smaller with less population than the other regions of the continent with many of them divided in small tribes and clans ruling over small areas independently .
The lack of an organised central government and rivalry between various tribes have often made the land engrossed in internal conflicts and battles .
This makes the life in this southern region for less stable than in other regions of the continent .
However that does not mean that the southern region is without its own natural treasures .
The same mountains which are difficult for the natives to sometime live in are also the great physical barriers that have stopped various outside invasions into their lands .
Moreover the people of this region were far more battle hardened then in other regions due to their challenges giving them a unique military strength .
At the same time while the snow filled lands are not suitable for growing various kinds of food crops the mountains in the region are full of various kinds of mineral resources .
Especially cultivation related crystals .
In fact the southern region has been the largest supplier of various kinds of crystals found and used by cultivators throughout the continent .
And this number amounts to 40% of the entire market .
Infact this is one of the main income sources of the people in the southern region .
The local tribes and kingdoms mine this resources alongside other materials like the famous Southern wools which are extremely resilient in cold temperature .
Afterwards they exchange and trade these goods with the neighbouring kingdoms for various other materials especially food grains and other luxury items that they lack .
However the geographical challenges of the southern region does not limit itself to it's cold climate alone .
The entire Southern region is divided into nearly 2 equal parts by a huge lake called lake Jingzi .
While the local people called it lake Jingzi the size of the water body was actually that of a great river .
However the lake Jingzi was more than just a normal natural barrier .
The water of the lake was as clean as a mirror and it was the only lake within the deep territories of the southern region that did not freeze in anytime of the year no matter how cold it gets .
Hence becoming a vital resource especially water for the local population .
However the lake itself in most of its path is covered by a thick mist zone which is called the the mirror mist veil .
This mist covered area is unevenly spread throughout the long path of the lake Jingzi and is known for being one of the hardest regions to navigate through even for the local people .
It is easy to get lost within the mist and very difficult to come out .
And once you are lost deep within this mist covered area finding you would become very difficult.
Many who survived and came out of the mist have almost give an uninormous statement that the sense of direction within the mist is almost non existent.
You might be thinking that you are going straight but after days of walking you would find suddenly that you have just walked in a peculiar circle and have once again reached the same area from where you started.
Moreover the further you go within the mist the navigation systems would start to faulter to the point where modern technologies like compass and other devices would become practically useless .
Some people even claimed that deep inside the mist they had troubles using their Dou Qi .
But it was not even the scarist part of the region .
Some who survived and came out of the mist claimed that they have seen strange creatures within the mist looking at them from afar .
Although no particular description can be written down by any of who saw those creatures but one thing was clear these certainly were not humans .
And one feature that was constant in everyone's stories and description where that the creatures had dark glowing eyes .
And whenever you looked at those eyes for too long it felt like you are losing your sanity .
All these created a strong myth among the locals that made them to afraid to cross the mist covered areas .
But outside these difficulties and truthfulness of the myths the lake Jingzi also had on ground physical impacts in the southern region .
Most importantly the lake Jingzi divided the southern region in two parts as I have said before .
And hence creating two separate regions the northern bank and the southern bank .
And the difference that it creates between the people who live on the two sides are visible even to the outsiders .
The tribes , kingdoms and others who live on the Northern side of the lake Jingzi have most contact with the western and the eastern regions of the continent .
And hence most of the trade flows through them .
And the southern side of the lake Jingzi on the other hand have limited land access to the other regions and as such they have limited trade deals .
This created a lot of hostilities between the two sides over various obvious reasons .
But mostly it's related to trade and access to the crossing points across the lake Jingzi .
While the mist covered a large portion around the lake Jingzi there were some areas from where clear passages could be found and these were the main crossing points between the northern and the southern side .
And hence became zones of conflicts for generations .
In a manner the entire Southern region was had never been united under a single rule for over a few centuries .
And for the kingdoms who share border with the southern region especially for the various small Western kingdoms this was also a favourable condition .
Isolated , small and independent tribes and kingdoms meant that they did not have to worry about a large and strong enemy at their borders .
And at the same time their willingness to trade meant that a booming and mutually beneficial economy could be established .
However in the past 4 years a great change had started to occur in the southern side of the lake Jingzi .
Because now all of a sudden a new power was rising in the southern side of the lake Jingzi unifying and conquering various small and big fractions at the opposite side of lake Jingzi .
This was the Bi Yuan Empire .
While in size it was even smaller than the Yu Shan Kingdom it's still comprised almost the half of the area behind the southern side of the lake Jingzi .
No one understood the reason for the rapid growth of this Empire .
Just 4 years ago the Bi Yuan Kingdom was just one of the small kingdoms on the southern side of the lake Jingzi .
But since the new king of the kingdom named Shen Tou took over the command he had miraculously unified a huge portion of the area under his control within 4 years .
He used clever diplomacy and military strength to do so .
And it was quite clear too many that it would only take him a little more time to unite the entire Southern side of the lake Jingzi .
And when that happens it would come time for the northern part .
This has became a constant reason for trouble and worry not only for the kingdoms and tribes on the northern part of the lake Jingzi , but also for the other Western and eastern kingdoms who shared border with the southern region .
After all the closer this new Empire came to them the stronger their influence would grow .
Location Change : Southern Side of the lake Jingzi : Bi Yuan Empire : Frost City :
In the southern side of the lake Jingzi as the heart of the newly emerging Bi Yuan Kingdom was it's capital city - the Frost City.
The city itself in terms of architecture or looks was nothing compared to the flower city of the Yu Shan Kingdom .
However it had a distinct feature to itself with high and tall walls around the city .
But if Xiao Ming was here to see this he would feel that these cold and big walls looked more like a cage then protection for the people inside .
The situation inside the city was also drastically different from the flower City or the glory City .
There were less shops around with very few people going out of their home to buy anything and the main market place was certainly nothing compare to the market in the Glory City .
" Step ! Step ! Move aside ! move aside ! His majesty is coming . "
Suddenly a shout came from the city main gate in a hurried manner .
When the people who heard this news they quickly moved to the two sides of the road .
Then the giant iron gate of the city opened which was then followed by contingent of cavalry entering through the gate.
When you look at the contingent of cavalry that came in you would see all of these warriors had worn a particular style of white dress with white mask covering their face entirely except for their eyes .
This warriors were not normal soldiers in the Bi Yuan army .
No ! They were the personal guards of the emperor himself.
But why were they here exactly .
Well the answer was also simple .
It was because of the man who was currently in front of the group.
The man in front of the group who looked barely out of his 20's had a scholarly smile on his face that fit perfectly on his handsome face .
His eyes where warm and his sincere smile was a source of strength for many who looked at him .
He wore a high collared multiple layer of perfectly clean fabrics that look like it was made of silver with various water ripple patterns designed over it that give it a unique and distinctive charm .
Over his shoulders he wore a big heavy cloak made of pure Southern cotton known for its remarkable ability to protect from cold .
And lastly in his hands he had a simple scholarly fan that no one knew what he used for .
This was ofcourse none other than Shen Tou the emperor of the Bi Yuan Kingdom .
" Long live his majesty ! "
" Long live his majesty ! "
" Long live his majesty ! "
" Long live his majesty ! "
As soon as the figure came Between the market square the crowd which had gradually increased more and more around the streets started to chant for the emperor .
While too many outside the Bi Yuan Kingdom saw Shen Tou as an enemy but to these people he was a hero .
He was a hero who you unified multiple fighting clans and but a stable life for them .
And right now there Hero ruler had returned from a battle giving them another victory to be proud off .
Hearing his name being chanted and seeing the excitement of the crowd Shen Tou didn't say much only smiled as he gently waved at the crowd .
And all this continuded throughout the time that it took him to reach from the main gates to the imperial castle that was situated at the centre of the capital city .
When the contingent of cavalry finally reached the gates of the castle the crowd had already long been dispersed .
" Welcome back your majesty and congratulations for your another great victory . " - outside the castle gate there was a old man standing there waiting for the emperor to arrive .
He was the prime minister of the Bi Yuan Kingdom and a loyal supporter of Shen Tou .
Seeing that the prime minister had came to get him finally the emperor came down from his horse but said nothing and slowly walked inside the castle with the prime minister in following him .
It was only after that the gates of the castle where shut and the only once remaining where the royal guards and the prime minister around Shen Tou finally stopped walking .
At this moment if any of the people who were cheering for him right now were to look at their emperor now she would be terrified .
It was because the smile on Shen Tou's face was still there but it was no longer the bright glowing smile .
No ! Now it was a cold and dark sinisterical smile .
And it was at this time he finally spoke .
" So what news do you have for me today prime minister . "
To Be Continued .