Chapter 6: Obtaining Maps (Part 2)

Ukashel?
Guo Shier immediately understood that the term likely referred to a so-called principality. He soon realized that this place was filled with numerous small countries, completely different from the Spellcraft Continent. There were no truly large nations on this continent, only countless small and medium-sized countries, along with numerous castles.
In this world, those who reached the fifth level of Barbaric Spirit Master could build castles, while those who reached the sixth level could establish a country. A tiny principality could be expanded into a kingdom by those at the seventh level. As for those at the eighth and ninth levels, they were extremely rare; they no longer cared about founding countries, as they pursued higher goals. Just like Guo Shier and his group, once they reached the peak of their profession, their aspirations would naturally differ from those of ordinary professionals.
In this world, a fifth-level Barbaric Spirit Master was already an extraordinary existence, while a fourth-level one could serve as a high-ranking military officer. Abuya was a fourth-level Barbaric Spirit Master and the commander of the army at Edlu Castle. The term “commander” was a translation by Guo Shier; it generally referred to someone who could lead seven or eight hundred soldiers, along with dozens of Barbaric Spirit Masters as officers.
Guo Shier silently counted: on this simple linen map, there were already hundreds of small countries and thousands of castles, all densely recorded on it. Frowning, he said, “Such a small area… how can there be so many countries?”
Abuya widened his eyes and replied, “Small? It’s not small at all… To travel from one end of the map to the other, even on the best horse, it would take years, unless riding a winged eagle, in which case it would still take months.”
But for Guo Shier and his group, this place indeed seemed small. They had seen countless continents and secret realms that could truly be called vast and resource-rich, so they really didn’t think much of this place.
Li Ran asked, “Is this the map of the entire continent?”
Abuya barely suppressed his anger. Gritting his teeth, he said, “How… how is that possible? There can’t be a complete map of this world. Alas, I only have one castle, so I don’t need such a large map. This is already the best map I have.”
Guo Shier suddenly thought of an important question. He asked, “What is used for shopping here? Barter, or is there currency?”
It was only then that Abuya realized these people were definitely not locals but came from a distant place. No wonder they wanted a map.

Yaya handed Guo Shier a strip of gold about the length of a child’s finger and said, “This is the common currency here.” It was a rectangular strip of gold with an inscription indicating its origin. Gold was the standard currency on this continent, followed by silver; most currencies in use were silver, as gold was extremely valuable while silver was far less so.

The world was vast—no one knew exactly how big it was. Yaya himself had never gone very far, having only visited the Duchy of Ek. He was a local who grew up in Edlu Castle. At the age of fifteen, he went hunting in the Black Wind Forest. Now nearly sixty, he had reached the fourth level of the Barbarian Spirit expert rank, making him one of the top fighters here, second only to the lord of Edlu Castle. He was quite famous in this region.

Guo Shier also realized that with their strength, there was no need to be low-key. If no one provoked them, they wouldn’t provoke anyone either. They could do whatever they wanted. At their current level, it would be difficult for them to suffer losses no matter where they went.

Yaya sighed and said, “I don’t know where you come from or what your intentions are. I just hope… you won’t kill people recklessly. I know… you’re very strong…”

Li Ran looked up and smiled, “Do we look like mass murderers?”

Yaya thought to himself, “Even if not mass murderers, they’re still a bunch of bastards.” But he didn’t dare say it out loud. With a bitter smile, he said, “I don’t know… I hope not.”

Guo Shier said calmly, “Control your subordinates and those hunters. We won’t provoke you without reason, but if they start it, we won’t hold back either.”

Li Ran nodded. “We won’t kill people recklessly. You don’t need to worry about that. It’s those reckless fools who deserve concern.”

Yaya wore a bitter smile. Of course, he knew that hunters and Barbarian Spirit experts often used their strength to bully others. He said, “Of course, if someone provokes you, I have nothing to say.” In truth, he only hoped that Li Ran and his group wouldn’t cause trouble in Edlu Castle. As for other places, he didn’t care about that.

Yaya added, “There are many duchies here, and wars often break out between them. If you go there, be careful. Getting involved in battles can be troublesome.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “It’s not troublesome.” Of course, she wouldn’t find it troublesome. If someone angered her, she might destroy a duchy with just one move. What was there to worry about?

Yabuya shook his head silently. He knew in his heart how powerful the other party was and was not afraid of trouble at all. It made sense—given their strength, whoever provoked them would die. When one’s fists were powerful enough, they could even set the rules, just like Meili had defeated several hunters earlier without facing any punishment.
…
Halechi was taken away by Meili. The sorrowful look in his Peach Blossom eyes before he left left everyone speechless. Guo Shier and Ezekiel went to the Duchy of Ek, while Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen went to separate duchies. Zhen Wuji, Goha, and Yao Zebusong went to yet another duchy. Before parting, they exchanged message tokens and distress signals, deciding on Edlu Castle as their final meeting point.
Guo Shier and Ezekiel walked to the Duchy of Ek. They had originally planned to ride local horses, but the horses here feared Ezekiel’s aura—whenever he got close, any horse would fall to the ground in fear and could not be ridden. With no other choice, Guo Shier had to walk with Ezekiel.
They chose to walk instead of flying because Guo Shier wanted to explore this world and look for local plants and minerals along the way. Flying would prevent them from discovering anything.
After leaving Edlu Castle, Guo Shier and Ezekiel found few people on the roads. Unlike the world in his past life, where people were everywhere, even though there were many people here, the vast land area meant there were still few people in the countryside. Guo Shier had already copied the linen map into his jade token, allowing him to check it at any time.
The two walked along the road.
Ezekiel couldn’t understand why Guo Shier wanted to walk. Walking on two legs seemed extremely annoying to him. If they had to walk, it would be better to use his original body and run on the road—his speed would definitely be faster than walking on two legs. He followed listlessly.
“Hey, walking like this is so annoying… Shier, let’s fly low above the ground. That way, we’ll be much faster and not tired, hehe.”
Guo Shier replied, “Our speed isn’t bad either. Even walking, it’s quite fast.” With each step, he would cover about ten meters. Although it wasn’t as fast as flying, it was indeed fast.
Ezekiel was very frustrated. He really wanted to walk with Meili and join Guo Shier, but he had no interest at all and couldn’t muster any energy. He followed listlessly, clicking his lips and saying, “I’m hungry…”
Guo Shier said, “It seems we just ate not long ago. If you’re hungry, just grab a piece of fresh meat and bite into it!”

Ever since eating Guo Shier’s grilled meat, Ezekiel didn’t want to eat fresh meat at all. With a grim face, he said, “Help me grill some meat. Raw meat… isn’t tasty.” Guo Shier didn’t reply and kept walking ahead. Come on, it hadn’t even been half a day since leaving Edlu Fort, and this guy already wanted grilled meat? He had no energy to grill. He knew he wouldn’t stay in this world for long, so he needed to hurry up and gather materials and learn some local skills—there was no time to dawdle here. Ezekiel, like a child, kept pestering Guo Shier relentlessly; he just wanted grilled meat, leaving Guo Shier extremely frustrated and regretting having agreed to travel with him. Actually, he understood Qi Wuzhen’s good intentions—having Ezekiel by his side meant they wouldn’t have to fear even the top local experts. But he hadn’t expected Ezekiel to be so stubborn. “I want meat! I want grilled meat…” Ezekiel kept nagging him like flies buzzing in his ears, making Guo Shier break into cold sweat. The handsome old man secretly laughed in the altar, “This Ezekiel is just like a child… Hehe, kid, you’re in trouble now.” Cornered, Guo Shier took out a few pieces of marinated meat and said, “Here, eat this!” Ezekiel took a piece but declared it unsatisfying. The marinated meat was made from the flesh of low-grade mutated spirit beasts, so it naturally couldn’t compare to the meat of high-grade ones. The meat of mutated spirit beasts was rich in life energy, and after being processed by spirit fire, it not only tasted good but was also highly nourishing. “I want grilled meat! I want grilled meat…” Finally, Guo Shier lost his temper and snapped, “Eat hell! There’s none!” Ezekiel walked over to a big tree by the road, sat down, and said, “I’m tired, hungry… I can’t walk anymore!” Guo Shier was stunned. “Ezekiel, you…” He wanted to say, “Even you, a human-shaped mutated spirit beast, get tired?” But then he realized that would be discriminatory, so he couldn’t say it. Still, this guy was too annoying—acting up after just half a day. What would happen in the future? The handsome old man laughed heartily in the altar. Even this little brat would suffer sometimes. With no other choice, Guo Shier tried to coax him, “Ezekiel, if you really want meat, I’ll grill it for you tonight. But… you have to follow me now. Otherwise… there won’t be anything at night!” Ezekiel immediately jumped up and rushed ahead, saying, “I keep my word!” Guo Shier snapped angrily, “You bastard… Wait for me! Slow down! So fast? I still need to find materials…”

Ezek walked at lightning speed, and Guo Shier ran after him, hopping along. From dawn until dusk, Guo Shier found no valuable materials along the way. It was Ezek’s fault—he walked so fast that Guo Shier didn’t have time to look around, so of course he couldn’t find anything useful, which made him furious. As soon as it got dark, Ezek found an open area with a small river nearby. He sat down and said, “I want grilled meat!” Guo Shier was so angry he wanted to hit someone. He had no choice but to grill meat for Ezek, using the flames from the ginster beads to quickly cook some meat from the mutated beast, then made a pot of hot soup and started eating on his own. Just as they finished eating, they heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. Guo Shier said, “There’s a cavalry coming.” Ezek glanced back at the direction they came from and said, “It might be enemies.” Guo Shier replied helplessly, “Where would so many enemies come from?”