Along the way, they often saw squads of Heaven Dou Empire soldiers riding past on horseback.
Tang Lan knew that tensions between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Dou Ling Empire still persisted, and were continuing to escalate.
North of Shrek City lay the borderlands shared by the three sides. Aside from Shrek City's territory, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Dou Ling Empire had already clashed repeatedly along the border.
Over the past several months, both sides had continuously reinforced their border forces, leading to the current tense situation.
Recently, the Heaven Dou Empire had invited Mu En, the Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, to mediate between the two empires and ease the severe conflict.
Yet Mu En was still in seclusion, making the situation increasingly tense. Even the nearby civilians had chosen to leave their homes and relocate elsewhere.
The houses they had seen along the way all yielded the same result after Tang Lan's repeated scans: there were no signs of life whatsoever.
This place had already become a land without people.
"Up ahead is the famous Barren Land. The road is a little bumpy, so please sit tight!"
As the sun gradually sank toward the horizon, Che Tu, seated at the front, suddenly reminded Tang Lan and the others.
Tang Lan had long seen the Barren Land on the map. After passing through it, traveling less than thirty li further would bring them to the famous Green Mountain Town.
The Barren Land had earned its name because of an earth-shattering war that had taken place here when the Heaven Dou Empire split apart.
According to Shrek Academy's historical records, the divided Dou Ling Empire and Heaven Dou Empire had each stationed hundreds of thousands of troops here and fought for a full three