Chapter 172 - 172 98. "Join" Two Places
Every time the afternoon heat became unbearable, he would find some ruins to rest in until evening, then continue on his way under the dim light of the setting sun…
Day in and day out, night after night.
He safely passed through all the defense lines on the plains, avoiding the steam locomotive patrol teams and passing by the silent and eerie tomb entrances.
All the way to where he found a shady spot nearby the Blade Mountain Range, he hadn’t found any place that could replenish his soul strength.
In fact, since he avoided all living beings along his route, he never encountered gasping humans on the way, nor any small animals like rats, wild dogs, or wildcats.
It was as if there were no living creatures in this world except him.
This sense of isolation and loneliness screeched to a halt on this day’s afternoon when it was torn apart by the rumble of carriage wheels coming from the road.
This place was about 20 kilometers south of the Blade Mountain Range.
Since it was close to the narrow pass controlled by the Empire, there were relatively more people nearby, and teams of carriages would often pass by the road, leaving noise and dust behind.
Noland hid among the ruins, using a telescope to observe the distant teams of carriages.
His gaze followed the teams as they moved north, watching them enter the massive narrow pass at the foot of the mountain range.
The Blade Mountain Range was extremely steep, with slopes almost perpendicular to the ground level, covered in mud and rocks, and had very little green vegetation.
Attempting to climb from the foot of the mountain with climbing axes and crampons was nearly impossible.
The only choice was to enter the mountain through the two narrow passes held by the warring sides.
The Undead Cult’s pass was about 100 kilometers west of where Noland was currently.
It was a large underground corridor that extended down into the mountains, with the entrance guarded by undead creatures all year round.
In Kasha’s memories, the number and strength of the undead creatures there were comparable to those in the Grave Vaults caught in an uprising.
As a living person, it would clearly be unwise for Noland to try to enter through the Undead Cult’s pass, as there was a high chance of being detected by the undead scout forces.
Since he couldn’t walk through the Undead Cult’s pass, there was only one road left.
He could infiltrate the pass controlled by the Tatis Empire, find an opportunity to climb the mountain range, pass through the peaks, reach the north side of the mountain range, jump off the clifftop, and escape.
As for how to survive the jump without dying, Noland had his ways.
What really troubled him now was how he could blend in with the pass controlled by the Empire.
“Carriages transporting supplies, transporting troops, escorting Sin Soldiers, transporting building materials… This Empire’s pass is just as busy as Kasha remembers. Just standing here, I have seen several carriages with different functions pass by.”
Noland looked up at the sky:
“Wait until nightfall, place a stone on the road to force the convoy to stop and clear the obstacle, then use ‘Track the Living’ to avoid the soldiers, and hide in the carriage. Hiss, this method is quite dangerous. If the guards were to thoroughly inspect the carriage before entering the pass, I would most likely be caught. And if specially trained military dogs were involved in the search, I’d almost definitely be found out… I must think of a safer and more reliable way.”
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