The Demonic World I designed-Chapter 657 - 647: The Differences Between Two Paths...

"Beihai City has actually been taken by Chen Qing..."

Outside Beihai City, the people who were escorted there looked at the city filled with armored soldiers; both the ordinary citizens and the scions from dispersed noble families were stirred with emotion.

Especially the scions of the noble families, their greatest fear was that they had been lured out only to be used as sacrifices for demons. But now, seeing so many robust soldiers, they felt a weight drop in their stomachs.

No matter how the elders guessed at Chen Qing, at least for now, these soldiers of the Human Race were real, and they... surely held a deep hatred for the Serpent Demons of the Northern Territory!

This could be seen from the mountainous piles of dead giant serpents outside the city.

"You have worked hard, Envoy," greeted a Colonel with an enthusiastic smile, offering a pot of warm wine: "Here, take a drink to warm up."

The Black Lantern Envoy looked up at the Colonel’s warm smile, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

To them, who had lived for countless years, these so-called humans had long been seen as mere ants. He couldn’t remember the last time he faced such a sincere smile; previously, humans only showed him respect born from fear.

The people from the guild had long been used to being viewed as anomalies, accustomed to being the subject of others’ fears.

Accepting the wine, he took a light sip; the strong aroma of the wine carried medicinal qualities akin to that of high-grade ginseng, which still had a positive stimulus effect on his blood energy, and indeed, made him feel warm all over.

"Good stuff..." The player smiled slightly. It was said that the Mountain God in Chen Qing’s power could enhance the level of plants, and the enhancement was gentle and did not lead to demonization. Such fine things, their guild never managed to create in so many cycles...

It seemed he needed to find a way to get his hands on it.

"If the Envoy likes it, I’ll have my men bring more for you to take back. When you have time, come to Jiangnan, and I will treat you to a good drink!"

"Haha... very well!" The player burst into laughter, as it had been many years since he had received an invitation from a human.

After all, he wasn’t from the rebirth group. On reflection, perhaps in the next cycle, he should apply to join the rebirth group and experience life as well?

The Colonel, seeing the Envoy’s agreement, also broke into a smile; they had heard of the deeds of these sect envoys. To protect the Human Race’s lineage, they hid in the shadows, only appearing to act during chaotic times when demons ran wild. This legend sounded much like a storyteller’s tale.

But no matter, this group, within the jaws of countless giant serpents, salvaged their kinsmen from the Northern Territory. For this reason alone, they deserved their respect.

Back when he was in Jiangnan, his parents and wife were lost to the living dead, and he deeply admired those who could stand up to demons and protect human lives at critical moments, especially after he had joined the Warrior Army.

He came to understand more clearly – fighting desperately outside, all to let more kinsmen survive – how arduous and worthy of respect it was.

The Warrior Army was proud, for what they did was praiseworthy, and likewise, this Envoy before them was a proud individual!

"Our kinsmen from the Northern Territory have suffered," the Colonel declared loudly to those behind him: "Come on into the city, have some hot porridge, warm up by the fire, get a good night’s rest before we travel on. There’s no rush; Beihai is very safe now!"

This robust man’s voice was as resounding as a beating drum, painfully ringing in people’s ears, yet to everyone, his voice sounded even more affectionate than their own mothers’ due to this large and secure figure.

Following the Colonel’s lead into the city, the passing citizens just felt that these Jiangnan soldiers were each tall and formidable, far stronger than the men of the Northern Territory. They were truly soldiers from Jiangnan?

Looking at the corpses of the giant serpents outside and then at these towering and formidable soldiers, they felt both a long-lost sense of security and an acidic twinge.

Everyone knew that the soldiers from the Northern Territory were the most valiant. But now, as the people of the North were displaced and had left their homes, compared to these tall soldiers from Jiangnan, they felt like mere skinny monkeys.

The feeling was even more noticeable among the descendants from lineages with strong bloodlines; they could clearly sense that these ordinary gate-guarding soldiers were far stronger than themselves. The surging sensation of their vital energy was at least that of a Fourth Rank Warrior.

A Fourth Rank Warrior – in the past, that could lead a small clan in a minor region. Yet here, it seemed to be just a lowly city guard.

It now appeared that Jiangnan’s army truly possessed real substance, able to take Beihai City amid the threat of the giant serpents.

After entering the city, to their surprise, they discovered that there were still many people in Beihai City, aside from the reassuring and formidable soldiers, there were also many peddlers with large stacks of goods.

These peddlers looked healthy and full of vigor, their statures also tall, looking even larger than these people from the Northern Territory.

For a moment, everyone was perplexed; in this cursed North, where man-eating giant serpents roamed everywhere, it made sense for the formidable soldiers to come, but why would ordinary people dare to do so?

With doubt, many people followed the soldiers’ arrangement and went into the large tent that was set up, waiting for the rice porridge relief.

The battle here must have been fierce, as the houses were basically all damaged, and the place was desolate, but the presence of people now gave them some reassurance, especially in the tent, where the warmth from Warm Jade washed over them, giving those who had traveled silently through the ice and snow for two days and nights the feeling that even if they died here, it wouldn’t be so bad.

"Hey, brothers, can I squeeze in here, please? There are just too many peddlers over there, we can’t fit them all, just scooch over a bit...."

The man walking into the tent was dressed like a peddler, a tall young man, but his accent was unmistakably that of Jiangnan.

"Brother, are you from Jiangnan?"

"Ah..." The newcomer patted the snowflakes off his body and took a seat, smiling in response: "In this damn place, who else would dare to do business now if not we fearless Jiangnan peddlers?"

That statement was true; with the Northern Territory being so terrifying now, only Jiangnan people, who believed the dead could enter the underworld, would have the courage to come here....

"So, all those peddlers outside are from Jiangnan too?" someone asked, in disbelief: "Are all the people from Jiangnan so tall? I’ve been to Jiangnan for business before, and it wasn’t like this."

"How many years ago was that?" The young man took pride in being called tall, straightened his back with a smile. When he used to go to the Northern Territory to stock up, even a girl would be taller than him, making him quite conspicuous. He never expected the time would come when he would be called tall by men of the Northern Territory, heh heh....

"Nowadays in Jiangnan, we’re all protected by mountain spirits, drinking clear spring waters blessed by them, and eating high-grade foods developed by the magicians. Even children of seven or eight years old can grow to be six or seven feet tall...."

"Brother, don’t exaggerate. Children of seven or eight years being six or seven feet tall? Even the extinct giants of the Northern Wasteland weren’t so tall, right?"

"Hmph, believe it or not, you’ll know once you go to Jiangnan."

Just as they were talking, a soldier brought over a pot of meat porridge, a very large pot. Everyone inside the tent stood up at the smell, gazing at the huge pot of rice porridge, frozen in place. Such a large pot, and there were only six people in the tent?

They had already prepared themselves for the life of refugees, but upon seeing the rice porridge that emitted an alluring meaty aroma, they couldn’t help but rub their eyes, afraid that they had seen wrong.

"This... is for us?"

"Rest assured...." The peddler confidently served himself a bowl: "This is how Jiangnan treats the Northern People who sought refuge with us; at first you might not be able to finish it all, but that’s okay, you’ll get used to it after a few days."

Having said this, he took a delightful sip.

The others couldn’t hold back anymore; they hurriedly served themselves big bowls and, not minding the heat, they gulped down the porridge.

The thick rice porridge was pure and fragrant, even better than the top-grade rice of the Northern Territory. The soup seemed tastier than chicken soup, and especially those large chunks of meat — unknown what kind of animal they were from — fresh, juicy, and chewy, felt even better than beef. They wolfed down bowl after bowl, one after another.

"You guys are lucky...." The peddler said with a laugh: "I heard that many of you were afraid Jiangnan was too far and unsafe to reach, so you went to Northern Wolf City instead. Northern Wolf City is short of people to till the fields; you won’t get the same treatment as in Jiangnan there, and if you choose the Northern Wasteland, forget about running off to Jiangnan for a while, it’s worlds apart."

"Is Jiangnan really that good?" Some people put down their porridge bowls, patting their round bellies, unable to resist asking: "Can we really enjoy such delicious meat porridge every day?"

"What’s this?" The peddler scoffed: "The place in Jiangnan nowadays – many people from the Northern Territory wouldn’t want to leave, not even if they were given lands and houses in the West Sea islands. But I understand, no one would want to leave once they’ve been there. Once I’m done with this trip, I plan to buy a store in Yunzhou and never leave. That place, it’s not only better than this godforsaken Northern Territory, but I wouldn’t trade it even for an official position in the Capital City."

This boastful tone....

A group of Northern People pursed their lips, their hearts half filled with belief and half with skepticism, it all seemed a bit too exaggerated.

But... one thing was certain; given the current state of the Northern Territory, it was likely that they, too, would never want to come back.

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Meanwhile, on another route, those noble families who had decided to take a chance at life or death and insisted on returning to the Central Plains, never imagined that they would arrive there so smoothly.

The Black Lantern Envoys they had been wary of the whole way showed no sign of making a move.

Their behavior only increased the families’ confusion; could these people really be so kind-hearted? Could it be... that what the envoys had been preaching was actually true?

With anxious hearts, the group entered a border city. That decision... filled many of them with regret for the rest of their lives.

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