South Sea Prefecture, Heaven-Character Wharf.
The greatest port under heaven had been placed under wartime lockdown. Soldiers patrolled in crisscrossing routes, entry and exit were strictly registered, and without a permit, no vessel was allowed to dock.
The River Conservancy Office's support contingent broke into the harbor, presented their documents, and delivered supplies. Even at midnight, many had no mind for sleep. Two hundred li farther southwest lay Ha Long Bay, the very front line of the conflict. Just the day before yesterday, dozens had died there in misery.
"Southern Border..."
Ta Ta Kai held up a porcelain plate and served hot roasted lamb shanks.
Liang Qu stood at the bow, gazing into the distance.
The scattered lights were all blocked by trees.
The air was heavy with moisture, far more comfortable than the Desert North's dryness—if one ignored the temperature.
Unlike the struggle between Da Shun and Northern Court, where Heyuan Prefecture and the Great Wall at Shuo Fang Platform marked the border, with one corner of Blue Lake serving as a buffer, giving the territories an extremely clear division.
Between Da Shun and the Southern Border, there were no towering walls and no special terrain—only unending mountain ranges, interlacing rivers, and sentry posts hidden in the woods.
Every battle was an infiltration battle or an ambush battle. In the heart of the two powers' territories, there had even emerged a long, narrow no-man's land with a warped sort of "prosperity."
Tribes exiled by the Southern Border, criminals who had fled Da Shun—strong and weak alike. There were Wolf Smoke fiends, Galloping Horse murderers, and even Four Pass thugs. They ate raw flesh and drank blood; everyone turned pale at the mention of them. It was a place neither side's common folk wished to enter.
"A Shui, where did