If Villant Province was the land from which the Velanders marched forth, then Bartoya Province, separated from Villant Province by a single sea, was the first checkpoint on the Velanders' road of conquest.
Compared to a map from another world, Villant Province was somewhat like a scaled-down combination of the Iberian Peninsula and France, while Bartoya Province roughly occupied the position of North Africa, though it appeared much broader and thicker than North Africa.
The two provinces were separated by a gulf called the Vortex Sea. This body of water was much smaller than the "Mediterranean Sea" of that other world, probably only half its size. Their shapes were vastly different as well: wide at the mouth and narrowing toward the east, like a water buffalo's horn.
Avent City stood at the northwestern corner of Bartoya Province, in a place called Dagger Cliff, facing Villant Province across the sea.
At their closest point, the two provinces were only two hundred kilometers apart. Swimming across would be difficult, but by ferry, it only took five or six hours—and that was taking it slow.
Ever since news of Marshal Julius's death spread, huge numbers of Velanders had rushed to Triumph City from all over the world, hoping to attend Marshal Julius's funeral.
Naturally, that included Velanders living in Bartoya Province.
There, they would see old friends they had not met in years, sit together and chat about anything and everything, blow bubbles into their beer, or even tumble into bed together.
Once it was all over, some of them would stay, but most would return to their own homes in the New Continent or eastern Old Continent.
If they wanted to spread the "Death Agent" across the entire world, there could be no better opportunity than Marshal Julius's funeral...
The waves rolled