Chapter 5: Duchy of Shilin (Part 1)

Guo Shier said loudly, “Come here! Just speak up if you have something to say. Stop acting sneaky. Are you here to find Pinata?” The man rushed over, crawling and looking terrified. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh and asked, “Am I that scary?” The man was so frightened he could only nod repeatedly.
Ezekiel laughed and said, “Hey, Shier, he admits you’re scary.”
The man kept saying, “No… no… I’m not… I…” He was too scared to speak properly.
Pinata said with a bitter smile, “Irk, just speak up.”
Irk stammered, “Yes… yes… I’ll talk, I’ll talk…” Pinata was so angry she almost kicked him away, shouting, “Speak clearly!”
Guo Shier asked, “Has the caravan arrived yet?”
Irk finally calmed down a bit and said, “No, not yet. It’s news from the Shibah Grasslands—they encountered the army of the Duchy of Ek… and they want us to send reinforcements.”
Pinata asked anxiously, “Did they lose? What’s the damage?”
Irk replied, “They were ambushed… We never expected the Duchy of Ek to send troops. The losses were heavy. At first, the Duke of Ek attacked, and we lost many skilled fighters. It wasn’t until other troops arrived that they retreated. But they probably haven’t returned to the Duchy of Ek yet…”
Just as Pinata was about to speak, she saw Guo Shier’s half-smiling face and suddenly realized she was no longer the commander of this team. She sighed and said, “I hope they can hold on… We can’t help.”
Guo Shier didn’t say anything. He hadn’t even considered sending troops. Neither the Duchy of Qiskar nor the Duchy of Ek mattered to him. He was thinking of Li Ran and the others. So far, he had only received one message token, merely a reminder, not an order to join them. But he knew that more message tokens would come soon, and then he would have to go to the Wasteland.
Ezekiel asked, “Shier, where are we going? Are we going to the Wasteland?” He was very interested in the Wasteland because there were powerful people there to fight against.
Guo Shier replied irritably, “Do you know the way?”
Ezekiel was stunned and said, “How could I possibly know the way?”
Guo Shier said, “Then stop talking nonsense. Just follow me when the time comes.” Ezekiel was speechless, thinking, “Isn’t this bullying?” But he was wrong. Guo Shier wasn’t bullying people—he was bullying beasts.

A group of cavalry rushed over and was stopped at the entrance of the fortress. Soon, someone came to report that people from the Xiba Grassland wanted to enter the fortress.
Guo Shier ordered them to be let in. The cavalry quickly reached the center of the camp—over thirty riders in total. Leading them was a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression, wearing rare metal armor. As he dismounted from his horse, the armor made a clanging sound. His men followed suit and got off their horses.
“Pinata! Pinata! What’s going on with your camp?”
The man stepped forward, the armor making a rustling sound. Pinata’s expression changed slightly as he said, “Oka, why have you come?”
Oka looked annoyed, with obvious disdain and impatience. He said, “Why have you gathered so few people? You don’t even have a fortress gate—whose doing is this?” The fortress gate had been shattered by Guo Shier’s Moon Blade earlier, and although it had been cleaned up, traces remained.
Pinata’s face darkened as he said, “You’re asking too many questions… I’m not under your control. Just tell me what you want!”
After a few words, Guo Shier realized these two didn’t get along at all—their relationship was terrible.
Oka spotted Guo Shier sitting calmly and asked, “Who is this man? Stand up!”
Guo Shier didn’t expect Oka to take his anger out on him. He grinned and said, “Why should I stand up? I’m very comfortable sitting.”
Pinata’s face turned blue. He knew exactly how strong Guo Shier was and was surprised that Oka would provoke him. He hurriedly said, “Oka! You…”
Guo Shier raised his hand to stop him. He said, “What are you going to do if I don’t stand up? Who do you think you are?” His tone was teasing. With his temperament, if he didn’t mock or tease someone at a time like this, it wouldn’t be Guo Shier.
Oka stared at Guo Shier in surprise. Only then did he realize Guo Shier’s uniqueness—he could tell right away that Guo Shier wasn’t from around here. He asked, “You… are you an outsider?” He stepped back abruptly, as if facing a formidable enemy. His men also drew their weapons and watched Guo Shier warily.
Guo Shier remained seated, saying, “Is it strange to be an outsider?” He sat cross-legged, looking up at Oka with an indifferent expression.
Oka turned to Pinata and shouted, “You actually took in an outsider!”
Guo Shier replied calmly, “You’re wrong. Pinata didn’t take me in…”
Oka asked, “What do you mean?”
Guo Shier said coldly, “It means nothing. He’s my captive!”
Oka quickly drew his two-handed sword and shouted, “Pinata, what’s going on?”

Pinita said, “My affairs… don’t need your interference!” He was extremely distressed. He had originally reached some kind of understanding with Guo Shier, but with this guy’s arrival, everything went haywire. The moment he spoke, it was about foreigners—foreigners who were no ordinary people, their ferocity beyond imagination.

Oka flew into a rage. “Bastard, you’re captured! How dare you be so arrogant? Surrender now!”

Ezekiel laughed. He stretched out a finger and pointed at Oka, saying, “This guy is stupid…” Then he pointed at Pinita, “Not as smart as you… haha.”

Oka suddenly lunged forward, raising his greatsword and shouting as he swung it down.

Crack! The small wooden post was split in two. Guo Shier suddenly appeared behind Oka. Oka’s bodyguards shouted to be careful, but Guo Shier was too fast. Whoosh! Oka felt as if a mountain had pressed down on his shoulder; he couldn’t withstand such force at all and knelt to the ground. Guo Shier pressed a hand on his shoulder and asked calmly, “Do you want to kill me?”

Oka’s heart turned to ice. He never expected Guo Shier to be so powerful. But he was also a fierce man. He spun his greatsword and thrust it at the gap beneath Guo Shier’s ribs. Yet before the sword could reach him, his body suddenly moved, and then he let out a terrified scream as his own greatsword pierced through his abdomen.

Guo Shier quickly dodged. Oka crashed backward, trying to use the sword piercing his body to strike Guo Shier, but Guo Shier was too fast and had already dodged away.

Ezekiel continued to mock him, saying, “Uh, can’t think straight… Why commit suicide when you can just…?”

Oka sat down heavily, gasping for breath. He looked in despair at the sword piercing his abdomen and said, “Fine, fine, Pinita… you’re… done!”

Ezekiel still sneered, “Strange guy… I don’t even understand what you’re thinking.” He thought Oka’s mind was broken.

Oka turned around and said, “Retreat!” His men immediately rushed toward the fortress gate.

Neither Guo Shier nor Ezekiel stopped them. Instead, they stared at Pinita. Oka roared, “Hurry… go report!”

Pinita gave a bitter smile, stepped forward, and slashed Oka’s head off with a single blow. He then shouted, “Seal the gates! Kill them!”

A large group of bandits rushed forward. Oka’s men and followers fought their way forward, trying to break through the fortress gates, but they were too few. By the time they reached the gates, only two or three of them remained. Surrounded by hundreds of bandits, those few couldn’t possibly resist and were quickly killed to the last man.

Pinata let out a long sigh. Even though he had differences with Oka, he didn’t want to quarrel with him, let alone kill him. But at this point, he had no choice but to kill Oka’s men—otherwise, if they escaped, who knew what they might say, posing a great threat to him.

Although Oka was dead, the news of the defeat of the Chiska Principality’s forces he brought also made Pinata realize the severity of the situation. After all, with the Grand Duke Ek personally involved, they had no chance of resisting. Yet he understood that the Grand Duke Ek couldn’t stay here for long. After killing some of the elite fighters, he would quickly return to the Chiska Principality, as he had to defend it.

Pinata really wanted to invite Guo Shier to join the Chiska Principality, but he knew it was impossible. So far, he still hadn’t figured out Guo Shier and Aizek’s true strength. All he knew was that they were extremely powerful—perhaps even legendary king-level experts.

After hesitating for a moment, Pinata couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He knew he was deluding himself. With their strength, they would never serve the Chiska Principality.

Sighing, Pinata asked, “Lord, shall we go to the Shiba Grassland?”

Guo Shier replied, “Wait for now. It doesn’t make much sense to go to the Shiba Grassland at this time… Hmm, just a moment…” A red glow flashed, and he reached out to grab something—a message token—that landed in his hand. Before he could examine it, another red glow appeared, and Aizek also reached out and grabbed it. He said, “They even gave me a message token.”

After checking the token, both of their expressions changed instantly. Guo Shier looked up and asked, “Pinata, do you know the Hiling Principality?”

Pinata was surprised. “The Hiling Principality? Yes, I know it. It’s very far away. It would take at least half a year to get there from here.” He was puzzled because the Hiling Principality was a famous grand principality, not something comparable to the Chiska or Ek Principality.

Guo Shier asked, “In which direction?”

Pinata pointed into the distance and said, “Beyond the Ek Principality, keep going straight ahead. But the road isn’t easy. There are many principalities along the way, along with countless castles. Some places have checkpoints, especially since you’re foreigners, it will be even harder.”

“Izak said, ‘We’re not going on foot.’ A journey of half a year wasn’t considered far by the two of them; if they flew, it would only take a few days, maybe not even that.”
Guo Shier tried the communication token again and said, “Yadlan, Eson, De Da, come here all of you.”
Yadlan came over and asked, “Leader, what orders do you have?” Eson, De Da, and the others also arrived, feeling uneasy and anxious as they approached Guo Shier.
Guo Shier said, “We have urgent matters and need to leave right away…”