Liu Zhenshan continued his introduction: "The Tieba Kingdom is a land of snow mountains. Much of its land is unsuitable for farming, so their territories are generally built along geothermal belts."

The land near these geothermal belts has a special property—geothermal nourishment, which increases crop growth speed by ten percent.

The things they grow are different from ours too; instead of wheat and rice, they grow frost wheat and Snow Potatoes.

frost wheat is cold-resistant; the flour milled from it is grayish-white, with a coarse texture but it's very filling.

Snow Potatoes grow underground; they aren't large, but they have a high starch content. When roasted, they are fragrant and sweet."

He pointed to the west, his gaze cast toward the distant, shimmering outlines of the snow mountains.

"Actually, there are many snow mountains in this area. Kara Holy City is built on a massive snow mountain further west, with its walls embedded directly into the mountainside.

Secret passages and backup granaries are set halfway up the mountain. The summit is covered in snow year-round, serving as a natural water source."

"There are many geothermal belts at the foot of the snow mountains, and most of the Tieba Kingdom's population is concentrated there."

Lin Feng looked toward the west; on the distant horizon, the outlines of the snow mountains were faintly visible.

He sighed in admiration, "A kingdom of snow mountains, nourished by geothermal heat, with mountain snow as a water source—such a geographical advantage is indeed rare."

Liu Zhenshan nodded and stepped across the boundary line.

Lin Feng followed, stepping onto the soil of the Grey Tundra.

The moss beneath his feet was soft and thick, feeling like stepping on cotton.

The wind grew colder, but the sun was still out, leaving a trace of warmth on his body.

The grey-green moss of the Grey Tundra spread out beneath their feet, stretching all the way to the base of the snow mountains.

The two continued westward. After about another three hours, the outlines of the snow mountains became clearer and clearer.

One of them was exceptionally majestic with a broad base; a black line could be faintly seen at the foot of the mountain—that was the wall of Kara Holy City.

The wind turned colder, blowing from the direction of the snow mountains, carrying the scent of ice and snow and a hint of sulfur.

That was the product of the heat from the geothermal belts meeting the cold wind.

As they drew closer to the Holy City, villages and farmland began to appear on both sides of the road.

The fields were surrounded by low stone walls, only knee-high, used to block the cold wind and wild beasts.

The fields were full of various crops; the ears of the frost wheat were grayish-white, bowing heavily under their own weight.

The leaves of the Snow Potatoes grew close to the ground, their dark green edges tinged with purplish-red.

There were also some vegetables whose varieties Lin Feng couldn't name, but they were growing well, with thick, deep green leaves.

Occasionally, Farmers in coarse cloth clothes could be seen working on the ridges of the fields.

They wore white turbans and bent over to pull weeds or water the plants, their movements slow as if they were saving every bit of energy.

The villages weren't large; the houses were built from stones with flat roofs covered in thick hay.

In the center of the village was a water well, with white steam rising ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) from its mouth—that was geothermal spring water, condensing into mist in the cold air.

A few children squatted by the well playing; seeing Lin Feng and Liu Zhenshan speed past on the road, they looked up for a moment before lowering their heads to continue playing.

But the adults did not share the children's ease. Most of the Tieba Kingdom people they encountered—whether Farmers, merchants, or Awakened—had worried expressions.

Their clothing was primarily white and grey; the men wore white turbans, and the women were wrapped in plain-colored headscarves and robes.

Most of the Awakened's melee weapons were scimitars, their sheaths hanging at their waists, handles wrapped in non-slip hemp rope, and blades glinting coldly in the sunlight.

Their equipment wasn't particularly sophisticated: White-quality scimitars, round shields, leather armor, and simple iron helmets worn under their turbans.

Yet everyone's eyes were wary, as if they were ready to face battle at any moment.

Conversations from the road reached their ears, voices kept very low, but the anxiety and panic in their tones couldn't be hidden.

"I heard the Orc Army has already passed Hunza County. They'll reach the Holy City in three or four days."

"Three or four days? I heard it's only two."

"No matter how many days, can the Holy City hold them back?"

"I don't know... the City Lord says we can, but the City Lord also told us to prepare for evacuation."

"Evacuate? Evacuate where? Everything west of the Holy City is lost, and to the east is Zhenyue City, but that's Great Xia territory..."

"That's still better than being hacked to death by Orcs."

"Sigh..."

Lin Feng listened to those conversations, his expression unchanged, but his heart sank slightly.

Panic was spreading—not just one person's panic, but the panic of the entire Tieba Kingdom.

From Farmers to merchants, from soldiers to civilians, everyone was talking about the Orc Army, and everyone was worried the Holy City wouldn't hold.

This kind of panic was more terrifying than the Orc Army itself; it would dissolve morale, shake the army's resolve, and make the soldiers on the walls think of an escape route before the battle even began.

Patrols passed by on the road from time to time.

The soldiers wore uniform equipment: White-quality scimitars, round shields, and leather armor, with iron helmets under their turbans, a single black feather stuck in the top of each helmet.

Their pace was orderly, but the expressions on their faces were just as grave as the civilians on the road.

Delhi Sultanate Infantry—a low-tier special unit. Their levels weren't low and their equipment wasn't bad, but their morale was poor.

Liu Zhenshan galloped ahead with a steady pace, neither speeding up nor slowing down because of the surrounding panic.

Lin Feng followed at his side, his gaze moving past the villages and fields to land on the distant Holy City.

The full appearance of Kara Holy City was finally revealed before his eyes.

The city wall had a circumference of sixty li and was forty meters high, the same scale as Zhenyue City. However, the materials were different; the wall was built with alternating layers of snow mountain granite and black basalt, appearing in stripes of deep grey and dark black.

The surface of the wall was densely carved with Quranic verses, the script in gold, shimmering with a divine luster in the sunlight.

The battlements were arched rather than the common square or trapezoidal shapes, showing a typical Islamic style with smooth lines and elegant curves.

At regular intervals, there were small arrow towers shaped like minarets.

The arrow towers were five meters taller than the wall, with conical roofs and narrow arrow slits in the tower bodies.

There were three city gates in total: the East Gate (Gate of Victory), the West Gate (Gate of Purity), and the South Gate (Gate of Prosperity).

Lin Feng and Liu Zhenshan were heading toward the East Gate.

The gate was a pointed arch, and the lintel was inlaid with metal emblems of the crescent and star, which glittered in the sun.

The city gate was of Purple quality, one meter thick, its surface covered in iron plating inlaid with dense defensive runes.

Each city gate was equipped with a barbican, where the walls on both sides extended forward to enclose the gate in a semi-enclosed killing zone.

The design was exactly the same as Zhenyue City, but the details differed.

The walls of the barbican were carved with even more scriptures, and the density of the arrow towers was higher.

The most shocking part was the northern wall; it wasn't built on flat ground but was embedded directly into the snow mountain's body.

The grey-black wall stretched from the foot of the mountain up to the mountainside, forming a sharp contrast with the white ice and snow.

The white snowcap glinted with a piercing light in the sun; it was a natural water source and also the final defensive weapon.

If the Holy City were attacked, the snow on the summit could be triggered to turn into an avalanche, burying everything.

It was said that the Holy City's wonder had a special effect that allowed it to actively control the direction and scale of an avalanche.

This made the natural weapon even more lethal and ensured that the enemy couldn't use an avalanche against them in return.

Lin Feng withdrew his gaze and marveled silently: a kingdom of snow mountains, walls embedded in the mountain, and scriptures covering the walls.

This city was just as fortified as Zhenyue City.