CH431 Hollowcrest Wildlands I

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By the next morning, the expedition party prepared to separate as planned.

"My father likes to move around and socialises a lot. I can't be sure when I'll actually get to meet him. It might take up to three months," Kron Belloc said as he saddled a muscular horse.

"You have said that before already. I understood so there's no need to rush. This is about making contact with your father more than anything else. We still have plenty to do in the Wildlands before we can even consider travelling to the Celahan Empire," Alex replied.

Kron paused and turned to face Alex.

"The Wildlands is a blood-soaked land," he said solemnly. "Law means nothing there. Only the strongest fist matters."

"Don't worry," Alex replied calmly. "I believe our fists are strong enough."

Kron Belloc shook his head.

"It's not just about having power. You have to show it. Otherwise, flies will swarm you."

"Do you know why those wannabe bandits dared to attack us over the past week? It's because your group's edge is sheathed. You look like aristocrats who would negotiate and parley rather than rogues who will cut them down at first sight."

"If you keep that appearance, you're going to have problems in the Wildlands," he warned.

"…or so I've heard," he added, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"Either way, your concern is duly noted," Alex said with a nod.

Kron returned the nod, then mounted his horse.

"I'm off," he said. "Heiya!"

He spurred the horse forward, and it galloped away.

In order to make the journey as fast as possible, Kron Belloc departed with only one additional horse.

Alex watched the man ride off into the distance.

According to Kron, riding fast with two horses was a bold move—one usually reserved for messengers of aristocrats. Few would dare interfere with someone who looked like a noble envoy, so his safety was all but guaranteed.

"Looks like you've grown on him," Eleanor commented from beside Alex.

"Well, I am wonderful company. People can't help but grow fond of me," Alex said with a smile. "You of all people should know that, right?" he added with a wink.

Eleanor rolled her eyes, prompting a chuckle from him.

Alex cast a final glance in the direction Kron Belloc had ridden off.

Truthfully, Alex had grown fond of the Verdantis native as well. He wasn't sure whether it was due to the man's remarkable adaptability or some mild form of Stockholm syndrome, but at some point, Kron had fully embraced his identity as a member of the expedition party.

So much so that Alex trusted him enough to send him back home bearing an important gift for his father.

It was almost as though the man had never been a captive of the expedition party at all.

Alex's gaze drifted toward the distant horizon.

Speaking of Kron's father…

According to Kron, he was a member of House Belloc, an old aristocratic family with a history stretching back to the founding of the Lumeria Empire—hundreds of years ago.

Situated closer to the Empire's centre and classified among the central-region nobility, the Belloc family had experienced both great rises and steep falls over the centuries, once ascending to a Marquisate before declining all the way back to a Barony.

Though the Belloc family's heyday was long past, it still controlled an unusually large territory for a Barony, and Kron's father maintained extensive connections among the upper echelons of aristocracy both within and beyond the Empire.

The reason for both was simple.

Baron Luth Belloc was a diplomat of the Lumeria Empire.

Thanks to the Baron's position, the Belloc family's territory enjoyed protection under the Imperial banner, shielding it from external threats and enabling his father's peripatetic lifestyle.

In truth, Baron Belloc's work and identity were vital to the survival of House Belloc.

The family lacked the military strength needed to defend itself after several generations of poor management, which had seen the once-mighty Marquisate decline into a mere Barony.

And this was a plane rife with chaotic power struggles.

Of course, not quite as frequent as those of Pangea—but dangerous nonetheless.

That said, while wars here weren't as immense or as frequent as those within the Virellian Empire—much less across the entire realm—they were still very much the norm.

The aristocracy of Verdantis, or more specifically the Lumeria Empire—individuals supposedly enlightened by the Light of Juror, a so-called deity of Light and Justice—made use of countless excuses to wage war against one another.

Heck, they would wage war if someone's horse so much as kicked up dust while galloping past them.

Unlike the Virellian Empire—which, ironically, experienced more wars—there was no real logic required here to justify one. All that was needed was a reason, any reason, and the war was on.

Of course, in reality, the truly foolish nobles who waged war simply because they lusted after an enemy's wives or daughters –or some ridiculous reason like that— had long since been erased into history.

Still, wars were most often fought over greed—over another's possessions; land, mines, local specialities, trade routes, political alliances, wealth, influence and so on.

This was the kind of world the weak yet territorially rich Belloc Barony had managed to survive in, thanks almost entirely to the diplomatic skill of Baron Luth Belloc.

Even with the risk—however small—that Kron might escape his control or betray his trust, a possibility Alex didn't truly believe in, he still sent Kron back home.

The advantages of building a relationship with Baron Belloc far outweighed the risks.

Shaking his head, Alex turned back toward the expedition party and gave a hand signal.

Immediately, the group packed up their belongings and mounted their horses, with Eleanor and Zora boarding a horse-drawn carriage.

With that, they set off toward the direction of the setting sun.

After more than two weeks of travel, Alex and the expedition party finally arrived at a vast, hardy, and desolate expanse of land.

The infamous Hollowcrest Wildlands—said to be the most lawless place on the continent.

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