Entering the Realm

Since Duanmu Huai had yet to unlock the Hall of Inquisition Library, he had no way to analyze the Antimatter Energy Core. Thus, he first used a teleportation beacon to send it back to the warehouse in the Core Cabin. After all, it wasn't as if he could carry that thing around with him.

Although the Old Ones' technology was reliable, this was still an energy core. If it exploded, the consequences would be far more dangerous than a nuclear power plant leak. There had even been an incident where a player had destroyed an entire galaxy by fiddling with one. Although the Antimatter Energy Core wasn't as dangerous as the Dark Matter Energy Core, if it exploded... well, with Duanmu Huai's current level-22 body, he would probably end up wiped out in the blink of an eye.

The Dwarfs had no idea what Duanmu Huai had obtained, but they didn't care either. Dwarfs were straightforward by nature. Duanmu Huai had charged ahead in battle, drawing most of the enemies' attention, and even killed the Ratmen hero. To the Dwarfs, that meant—This big guy's reliable. When trouble comes, he really steps up!

From there, everything went smoothly. Not only did the Dwarfs agree to let Duanmu Huai and the others cross the Gray Mountain Range to reach Bartonia, they also supplied them with a large amount of provisions and even gave them a carriage. Brock patted Duanmu Huai's lower leg—he couldn't even reach his knee—and loudly declared that he would be the Dwarfs' eternal friend. He also gave Duanmu Huai a token, allowing him to freely enter and leave the Gray Mountain Range in the future.

Actually, Brock had intended to give Duanmu Huai a weapon. Dwarfs had always expressed friendship by gifting weapons to their friends. For example, one of the Empire's first emperors had once formed a deep friendship with the Dwarfs and received a warhammer from the Dwarf King of that era. It had become a symbol of the alliance between humans and Dwarfs.

Unfortunately, Duanmu Huai was simply too enormous. The weapons forged by the Dwarfs looked like toys in his hands, so Brock had no choice but to abandon the idea.

From Brock, Duanmu Huai also obtained some information from the outside world.

The Empire was still in complete chaos. The Three Emperors were fighting one another relentlessly, while people in other regions trembled before the armies of the God of Filth's fanatical followers. The Dwarfs had received no requests for help from their Imperial allies—well, that wasn't surprising. No one had even decided who the emperor was yet.

As for Bartonia, there was no particular crisis. Bartonia was, by and large, a peaceful country. Its greatest threat was the Greenskin Orcs to the north.

However, Brock pointed out another threat to Duanmu Huai.

"You need to watch out for those skinny Wood Elves from Athel Loren! They're extremely dangerous!"

"Don't worry. I understand."

Hearing Brock's warning, Duanmu Huai nodded solemnly. As a veteran player, he knew that Brock wasn't saying this merely out of the hatred between Dwarfs and Elves.

In fact, Dwarfs and Elves had originally been quite friendly. Later, all sorts of problems arose. The two sides had fought and reconciled more than once, but some troublesome matters had also emerged in the process.

The Wood Elves were one such matter. They had originally been members of the High Elf race. During the Great Expedition, they had joined the High Elf army and come to fight the Dwarfs. However, halfway through the campaign, the High Elves' homeland was invaded by the Chaos Gods. The High Elves were immediately thrown into disarray and demanded that the expeditionary army return at once to protect their homeland.

Some of the High Elves in the expeditionary army were furious when they heard this. You drove us all the way here from the island to wage war, and now you want to stop halfway and go back just because you said so? Don't we have any pride?

Thus, those Elves left the main army and slipped into the forests, eventually becoming the Wood Elf branch of the High Elves.

Of course, there was also a legend involved. It was said that, long ago, when the High Elves were attacked by Chaos Demons, the High Elf Queen had begged the Forest Spirit to save her two children. The latter agreed, but demanded that half of her people belong to her in the future. If that story is true, then the Wood Elves are essentially the debt the High Elf Queen had to repay.

Forget it. That wasn't important.

What mattered was the danger posed by the Wood Elves.

The Wood Elves were a group of pure "extreme environmentalists." Their "environmentalism" didn't mean flying to the capitals of various countries to rant in front of their leaders, or holding up protest signs to stop construction—those were the actions of weaklings. They moved through the forests, killing anyone who dared approach too closely, then dragging the corpses back and burying them beneath trees as fertilizer.

See? Now that's what you call extreme environmentalism! (Tactical backward lean.)

Not only that, the Wood Elves would capture human children who became lost and wandered around the forests, then brainwash them into loyal servants. They also employed other methods to lure their targets in. For example, when a group of adventurers entered the forest, they would be welcomed by beautiful Wood Elves, invited to their banquet, treated to the Elves' enchanting songs, and allowed to enjoy fine wine and delicious food.

Then, once they fell asleep, the Wood Elves would drag them away to use as fertilizer.

Thus, although the Wood Elves weren't followers of Chaos, they were just as dangerous to humans. That was why Brock had specifically warned Duanmu Huai, to keep him from falling into their trap.

Duanmu Huai trusted the Dwarfs quite a lot. Among all the races on Novice Planet, the Dwarfs were one of the two races with the greatest resistance to Chaos. To be honest, if one wanted to fight Chaos, there was no safer choice than entrusting one's back to them. After all, the Dwarfs had originally been created by the Old Ones to resist the threat of Chaos. Their resistance to Chaos was practically maxed out. However, the Old Ones later discovered that the Dwarfs were too rigid, too stubborn, and too narrow-minded, so they abandoned them and eventually created a species that was not only powerful, with maxed-out Chaos resistance, but also excelled in both magic and martial ability, possessed incredible reproductive capacity, and served as the finest vanguard species against Chaos.

Hmm? Someone might ask, what species was that?

Oh, the Ogres.

Duanmu Huai would have to be out of his mind to try to build a relationship with them.

Have you ever seen Big Plate Chicken trying to befriend you from the dinner table?

Rabbit Rabbit was so adorable. Wouldn't it taste even better with extra spice?

"Whew... we're finally free...!!"

After crossing the Gray Mountain Range and arriving in Bartonia, the Elf Scout was the first to leap up. She raised both hands high and stretched, not caring in the slightest that her graceful figure was being exposed. Even the Old Knight, Elisa, and Christine wore relaxed expressions.

It was only natural. Ever since leaving Silver City, they had been in constant danger. First, they had been hunted by the Corrupted Cultists, then they had entered the Land of Silent Death. Although Duanmu Huai was quite "warding" against evil and they hadn't encountered any serious threats, a land overrun by undead was hardly good for their mental health.

They had relaxed somewhat on Dwarf territory, but they still felt a little uneasy.

It was only after entering Bartonia that they truly let their guard down.

At least this was a land under the protection of the Lady of the Lake, so there shouldn't be too many troublesome problems.

The reason they thought this way was that although Bartonia wasn't a large country, it still had an excellent reputation on the continent. It was essentially a pastoral oasis. Its nobles followed the ways of chivalry and strictly upheld knightly virtues. The country was stable and peaceful, practically a paradise on earth... of course, in the eyes of players, that description was somewhat ironic.

Indeed, none of the above was false.

There was just one prerequisite—peasants were excluded.

In the eyes of players, being a peasant in Bartonia was worse than being a henchman for followers of an Evil God.

Take taxes, for example.

Almost everyone had heard of the famous Tithe. Most countries on this planet collected taxes according to that ratio: simply put, one-tenth of the harvest was handed over to the state.

But in Bartonia, peasants didn't face a Tithe. They faced the Nine-Tenths Tax—nine-tenths of the harvest went to the state, leaving them with only one-tenth.

Huang Shiren would have applauded the efficiency.

Not only that, during wartime, peasants would be drafted into the army and sent to the front lines—in other words, they were cannon fodder. Thus, in Bartonia, peasants not only occupied the lowest social position and suffered exploitation, they were even sent to die by those noble knights. They were squeezed so dry that not even their bones were spared.

That was why many players found it deeply ironic. Quite a few had viciously criticized Bartonia's hypocrisy on the forums. After all, those noble knights shouted about knightly virtues with one breath, then sent the very people they had sworn to protect charging to their deaths with the next. It was darkly comical.

However, in Duanmu Huai's eyes, this was perfectly normal.

History had always been like that.

Take the Roman Republic. Its citizens could still elect their leaders, but slaves were fit only to provide entertainment in the gladiatorial arenas.

Even the Western Zhou had allowed the feudal lords to elect a common ruler, but the peasants outside the city walls had only the obligation to pay taxes. They had no rights to speak of.

In the modern era, when the gentlemen of England, dressed in tailcoats and wearing handlebar mustaches, smoked their pipes and drank champagne, they certainly wouldn't care whether serfs in colonies thousands of miles away lived or died.

Otherwise, how had the British Empire's fleet on which the sun never set been built? Was it not through colonies and the slave trade? Could it have generated resources out of thin air with a cheat engine? Those gentlemen who looked so imposing aboard their warships, overflowing with gentlemanly grace and naval spirit—weren't they all sustained by serfs?

But that didn't stop them from shouting "For Britannia!" and dying bravely in battle, did it?

Thus, although a country like Bartonia seemed somewhat absurd to modern people, it wasn't particularly strange when one thought about it carefully.

For example, when Western films praised cowboys for defeating the Native American tribes attacking their towns, one shouldn't forget that it was those white men who had first come to Native American lands to burn, kill, and loot.

Movies that glorified Caesar would never mention how many slaves had been exploited to achieve everything he did.

At the end of the day, putting on airs required capital. A knightly country with a medieval level of civilization like Bartonia was no exception.

Besides, with civilization at a medieval level... what else could one expect?

Of course, Elisa and the others had traveled thousands of miles to get here for something other than becoming peasants. They planned to head to Carcassonne, settle down there, and do a little business to make a living. In Bartonia, being a merchant was actually a decent choice.

As long as one didn't become a peasant.

It had to be said that walking along the country paths of Bartonia really did put one in a good mood. Lush trees and grass grew by the roadside, birds sang among the branches, and small animals darted about. This place truly looked like a paradise on earth—especially after they had passed through a curse covered in filth and a wilderness filled with death.

However, they soon encountered a minor mishap.