The Geared Immortal

Chapter 597

(Unedited)

…

More than a week has passed since the long line of carriages traversed through the rough road from the city of Yun Ji to the capital. So far the trip was calm and nothing unpleasant happened. The caravan consists of many merchants with their guards, mercenaries, nobles, and of course Shin Jiao and his group.

Before traveling, he saw that according to their destination they would have to go across at least 2 cities, 5 towns, and 3 villages before reaching the capital. And he also learned that these lands they are in right now belong to the kingdom of Yun, the border kingdom under the imperial control of the Silver Moon Empire.

And according to his travel companions, at the phase they are traveling right now, they would arrive at the capital no sooner than 1 and a half months later. They have already gone through 2 towns already, and their next destination is a small city near a huge lake.

Shin Jiao mulled about the situation and just heaves a heavy sigh. If he were to run at that time, he could arrive at the capital in just roughly around a week with some rest in the middle. However, he could not just go to the capital and search blindly. He needs these two people to cover for him. Anyway, he is not that press for a time as he is still not sure if his plan to escape this land is viable or not.

So he just leisurely sat with the group while looking out of the window. While doing so, Shin Jiao noticed a few shadows deep in the woods. From the look of it, he knew that those spell trouble. But it seems that the guards and the mercenaries didn't mind those and just acted like they never cared.

Using his contact lenses, he scanned the trees and found some figures hiding behind the bushes and above the trees. They don't dress like the regular people from the villages they have gone to before, but instead wore sackcloth over their bodies and crawl on the ground like monkeys. However, from the way they look, they truly resemble humans. Then suddenly something caught his eyes. Those people actually have tails.

Some have hairy tails, while others are smooth like that of normal skin.

This scene fascinated Shin Jiao and wanted to go down the carriage and walk closer. Suddenly a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Those are humanoid beast called Li'ang… they are natives to these lands and very ferocious. Many merchants have tried to capture them before but suffered defeat in their hands. Although they look like us, they are still beasts after all. Their strength is not comparable to a normal human." Bailao Di said on the side as he also gazes at the trees.

"If you do not attack them, they would not hurt you. However, once you came close to their territory, then you will be swarmed by a lot of them." Jie Ming added on the side.

"Interesting… they really look like humans you know. If they would just stand up and without the tail, no one can tell." Shin Jiao said.

"Haha… You are right. There are even beauties among them. I heard this story that once there was this young noble who fell in love with a Li'ang. But as soon as he and his people walked closer, they were immediately attacked and that noble almost lost his life. Then he called for an army and attacked the territory of those Li'angs, however, they suffered a huge loss and was sent back. From then on, the kingdom of Yun declares that the Li'angs should not be provoked no matter what." Bailao Di said.

Upon hearing this, Shin Jiao just smiles. He was really fascinated by those human-like beasts.

Soon the caravan stopped and everyone prepares for lunch.

Meanwhile, in one of the caravans where some nobles are staying, a handsome young man decided to take a stroll in the surrounding area. He wanted to take a breather after a hefty lunch. Behind him follows a young girl who looks like his maidservant.

As the two strolls around the camp of the caravan, they soon found a location and secretly went in that direction.

The maidservant looks around making sure that no one had seen them. Suddenly someone grabs her wrist and pulled her behind a large tree.

"Master… what are you doing? We… we can't do this in this place, someone might see us…" she said as she tried to distance herself away from the handsome young man.

However, he knew that she is just playing coy as her face is already blushing and a slight smile appears on her beautiful face. The two have an explicit relationship and have been together for a couple of years now. Although he already has a fiancé, and they are going to the nearby city because of it, he still could not help himself but dote on her.

The two practically grew up together and has developed a great bond with each other. And that bond grew into deep love and affection.

As the two played coy and chases each other, they didn't notice a few eyes looking in their direction from deep in the bushes nearby.

Suddenly, the young maidservant tripped on something on the ground. She was surprised but upon seeing the look on the young man's eyes, she showed a little fear in her heart. She then slowly turns her head to see what's under her foot.

As soon as her eyes saw the reason for her fall, she could not help but shriek out loudly.

Her shriek seems to have disturbed those hiding in the bushes as they suddenly disappear into the forest. Meanwhile, a few guards and mercenaries immediately ran towards the direction of that loud shriek and found two people running out of the bushes.

"What happened?!" shouted one of the guards.

The young maidservant could not reply as her face is filled with tears, while the young man behind her tried to catch his breath while waving to the guards.

"We… we found a dead body in that area." He said as he tried to calm himself down.

The two ran towards their carriage while the guards and the mercenaries ran to the location where the young man pointed.

Soon the group saw a dead corpse on the ground. However, judging from the corpse, though the person looks like a guard wearing a piece of leather armor, it is actually not human. The corpse is a Li'ang.

But the thing that baffled the guards the most is the armor it is wearing. They did not recognize that armor type of armor. Suddenly one of the mercenaries walked to the side and drags the dead Li'ang to the clearing and saw that its head was struck by something blunt.

He then checked the armor and its body and found something inside one of the pockets of the armor.

It was a piece of a token with an animal skin parchment covering it. In that parchment a roughly written word can be seen, 'war'.

When the mercenary saw this, his complexion suddenly changes. This only means that there is a large movement that is going to happen soon. And this message was sent to warn them that the area they are in right now will be wrapped in a huge turmoil.

"We… we have to hurry and leave now. We still have 5 hours before arriving in the city of Yan Hi. If we hasten then we can reach there in less than 3 hours… Go! Go!" he shouted.

"Wait! What's going on?" a confused guard asked.

"We have no time to talk. You all just have to know that there is a revolt happening inside this forest. It's the Under City." the mercenary said.

When the others heard his words, their complexion immediately turned pale.

Although the Li'angs didn't bother with humans, the fight between them is more brutal than human wars. They all have experienced seeing this terrible battle before. And every once and in a while, something like this would happen. And those who are stuck in the middle of this battle would surely die without an intact corpse.

Hence everyone was in a panic. After a week of peaceful travel, how could they expect that such a thing would happen? However, they could not do anything as it was their luck to encounter this event.

As the guards hurried everyone, they all advise them to drop any weighty objects they are carrying to hasten the pace of their travel. Those merchants and nobles who grumble in complaints upon hearing the reason immediately turned pale. They too knew of the danger of the situation.

And so the caravan hurried as many people left those heavy non-essential things at the side of the road. With the carriages losing a lot of weights the Neighs and Groogs pulling them speed up a bit.

"What is happening?" Shin Jiao asked.

"It seems that we are in the middle of a huge conflict between two factions of the Under City." Jie Ming muttered.

They have heard the whispers from the guards that there might be a huge war that's about to happen in this area. Their only safety is when they have entered the walls of the nearest city, Yun Hi.

And so the long caravan hurried towards the city of Yun Hi.

While this is happening, on the horizon, a large number of figures suddenly appear. Their numbers are like the sand of the sea, countless, and innumerable.

Leading at the front of these numerous creatures is a tall female donned in a black battle robe. Her face is like that of a deity, beautiful yet cold. Behind her stood a number of metal clad females with imposing aura and incomparable beauties.

The female is the queen of the Li'angs, the highest authority of the Under City. While beside her are her generals.

For the Li'angs, females hold greater authority than males. So males are just considered as cannon fodders and warriors. In actual fact, they are not needed by the colony and would only serve their purpose in mating and replenishing the population.

"Those rebels should be eliminated today… they have colluded themselves with the human to kidnap the prince. We should destroy them all." The queen said in a cold tone using the language of the Li'angs.

"How about that human city my queen? Should we destroy it?" asked one of the generals as her gaze turn towards the looming city on the far horizon.

"Humph… After we destroy the rebels, we shall visit that place… if they resist then destroy them.." She said with a glint of ruthlessness in her beautiful crimson eyes.