(I'm leaving for Guangzhou tomorrow, so I'm not sure whether I can keep updating over the next few days... Well, if my integrity somehow goes through the roof, I might still update. For the sake of my integrity, how about throwing in some monthly votes and subscriptions then?)
This place was only a few dozen kilometers from Pine Forest Village. We had left that peaceful little woodland village barely half a day ago, yet that tiny distance in time and space was enough to make one truly understand just how thin the line between peace and war was.
North Fortress had become a genuine heavily fortified zone. Centered on the fortress, military camps and garrisons of all sizes stretched for hundreds of miles along the Long Bridge Mountain Range. There were regular troops from the Empire's interior, second-line corps sent by local lords and church organizations, and scattered Free Mercenaries and volunteers gathered from everywhere. It could be called a grand spectacle, or it could be called madness. The Surface Dwellers' fearless response to the Dark Moon invasion and their spirit of nationwide resistance were admirable. Though the Dark Moon War itself seemed utterly baffling to us, these people holding fast on both sides of the Long Bridge Mountain Range, ready to risk their lives at any moment, still deserved the name of warriors.
Compared with the faintly murderous atmosphere that hung even in the air here, Pine Forest Village seemed far too peaceful, even too timid. But there was nothing to criticize about that. Not every race could be like the Shilin Apostles, with every citizen a soldier. Ordinary people had their own way of life, and there was nothing wrong with Pine Forest Village's residents thinking first about their daily meals. Besides, they would soon appear on the