Sun Country!

Central Continent, South.

A fully armed army marched south, recording the geographical features along the way and drawing maps.

The knight leading the group was slender and, judging from her figure, should be a woman.

The woman wore violet armor and held a black one-handed sword. She was one of the three Ascended Commanders of the Star Empire, Merserka.

He was called the Crescent Knight.

As a nation that primarily relies on military intimidation and external expansion and plunder, the Star Empire's main forces have been divided into three legions.

Led by three commanders, they set off in the southwest, opening up roads, building cities, and drawing maps.

These three commanders were Gawain, the Imperial Guard Knight was stationed in the capital Angnas and commanded the central army.

Merserka, the Crescent Knight, commands the Southern Legion.

Remord, the Griffin Knight, commands the Western Legion.

In addition, there are lords of varying sizes in various places and cities, who control the situation and development of each region and possess real power.

Including the two commanders who were dispatched, they all had autonomy and their status was similar to that of vassal kings.

Starry Sky Principal was not concerned about the development of the empire's built-in rules and systems, leaving it entirely to the king.

However, the Star King promoted a feudal system based on the rule of law.

The term "feudal superstition" in later generations refers to feudalism, which is essentially the feudal system of enfeoffment.

However, Starry Sky Principal, being from another world, spent his days studying the stars and magic inside the tower and was unaware of the disadvantages of feudal construction.

It's important to know that in ancient history, feudalism and feudalism on Earth rarely had a good outcome.

There are countless examples, such as the War of the Eight Princes.

The first person to overthrow the feudal system and implement centralized power was Qin Shi Huang, a system that has been used to this day.

Those who understood the advantages and disadvantages, such as Li Yuan, had already laid the foundation for a centralized system from the very beginning.

Because he had long realized that neither the king nor the people possessed the characteristic of absolute loyalty to the gods, and since the possibility of rebellion existed, the practice of granting fiefdoms had to be avoided under any circumstances.

"Lady Merserka, we have reached a new territory."

The female knight Merserka looked into the distance and saw a barren wasteland with scattered rocks, sparse soil, and withered vegetation.

They continued forward, crossing the scree forest, and what appeared before them was a golden sea of desert.

"This is?"

Merserka was somewhat stunned. She had never seen this terrain before; the soil was soft, dust filled the air, and strange rocks stood everywhere.

They continued forward, and in the distance, traces of green gradually appeared.

It's an oasis, and a very large one at that, right in the middle of this sea of sand.

However, before they could think any further, they were attacked by native creatures!

It's an insect!

Countless giant sandworms emerge from the desert. Their bodies are longer than snakes, and they have no eyes, only mouths covered with sharp teeth.

The sandworm caught everyone off guard. It darted out from under their feet and swallowed several soldiers whole in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Merserka stepped forward and used her sword to cut several sandworms in two, but there were far too many sandworms!

"Break through!"

Merserka ordered a forced breakout, and the Ascended Knights immediately began their charge.

Their legions Star Dependent, but also many ordinary people.

These ordinary people, clad in armor, followed the ascendants as they traversed mountains and rivers. If they discovered a treasure trove, they would stay there and build a city.

Among them, there were hundreds of knights who gained the power of ascension, and tens of thousands of ordinary people.

With Merserka leading the breakout, they finally arrived at the oasis in the desert at night.

There are no sandworms here, yet the place is teeming with life.

Merserka allowed the army to rest there, while she inspected the strange desert.

Using the unique abilities of the Star Dependent, she picked up a pinch of sand and began to analyze the energy contained within it.

"This area should have been a green space, but for some unknown reason, all the moisture in the soil has been lost."

"Moreover, the soil contains many fragmented mineral rocks and rock fragments of varying densities. Could this place... have once been a mountain range?"

Merserka froze, looking around at the desert before her, a wave of indescribable shock washing over her.

If this place was once a mountain range, why has it turned into a desert?

Who, besides the gods, could possess such power to move mountains and fill seas?

Or is it... related to those sandworms?

Unable to find answers to her questions, Merserka was caught red-handed by a local human late at night.

The human, with yellowish skin and a thin build, wearing only a thin yellowish-white cloth, immediately knelt down and begged for mercy upon seeing the armored soldiers.

Merserka approached him. "Who are you? What's your name?"

The sallow-faced, emaciated man raised his head. "My name is, my name is, Abul."

Where is this place?

"So... Solon, the Oasis City."

Merserka questioned the man a few more times to confirm what he meant by Solon.

This desert, and the entire region beyond it, are collectively known as Solon.

Just like the location of their imperial capital is called Angnas.

Their country is called the Sun Country, and their native god is the Sun God.

He said that this place was originally a mountain range, but the sun god used his supreme power to level the mountains and rivers and turn the land into sand, creating this boundless sea of desert.

This precisely confirms Merserka's conjecture.

However, the man in front of him couldn't explain what power the sun god used to turn this place into a desert; he only mentioned a few legends.

One theory is that it uses insects, while another is that it uses fire from the sun.

When Merserka asked what the insects outside were, he replied that they were guardians.

These insects won't harm them, but they will stop intruders from entering the desert.

Merserka turned to one of her personal guards and said, "You must return to Angnas immediately and relay this news back to the capital."

Upon hearing this, the man who had been grabbed and questioned paused for a moment.

He looked up at Merserka, "And who... are you people?"

Upon hearing this, Merserka raised her one-handed sword. "We are the Star People, following the trajectory of the stars to bring all life under the protection of the Star Country."

"We will not raise our swords against the powerless, against women and children; this is the honor of our empire."

Isn't this... an intrusion?

Merserka seemed to understand the man's gaze. "Whether you like it or not, this is destiny, the guidance of the stars."

The High Priest of the Star Empire, through observing changes in the celestial phenomena, determined that other civilizations existed in the southwest.

So they headed southwest and finally found the area indicated by the stars today.

Solon.

Merserka